Main  Lib. 

LIBRARY 

JL         .  ' 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OF 

\  1          \-l 

Oflss 

v 


\ 


HOW  TO  MAKE 
GRAPE  CULTURE 
PROFITABLE 
IN  CALIFORNIA 


WITH  EXPLANATION 
OF  CALIFORNIA 
V  I  N  E  OR 

ANAHEIM    DISEASE 


By  H.  HOOPS,  Wrights,  California 


HOW  TO  MAKE 


GRAPE    CULTURE 
PROFITABLE 


IN 


CALIFORNIA 


WITH   EXPLANATION   OF  CALIFORNIA 
VINE  OR  ANAHEIM  DISEASE 


H.  HOOPS 

WRIGHTS,  CAL. 

Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1904,  by  H.  Hoops,  in  the 
office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


PRESERVATION 

COPY  ADDED 

ORIGINAL  TO  BE 

RETAINED  .M 

' 


M/ 


PREFACE. 

In  writing  this  booklet  it  is  not  my  aim  to  give  anything  that 
can  be  found  in  other  works  of  ,a  similar  nature  or  the  current  agri- 
cultural periodicals,  but  shall  try  to  explain,  as  much  as  my  poor 
ability  as  a  scribe  allows  me,  the  ideas  and  methods  which  have 
proved  valuable  in  my  own  viticultural  practice. 

Although  in  the  choice  and  treatment  of  varieties  of  grapes  my 
suggestions  pertain  principally  to  coast  regions  of  northern  Califor- 
nia ;  I  believe  that  viticulturists  living  in  interior  localities  will  be 
assisted  by  them  in  the  improvement  of  their  own  practices  and  in 
the  selection  of  better  varieties  adapted  to  their  own  local  condi- 
tions. 

In  regard  to  my  explanation  of  the  California  vine  disease 
question,  I  shall  let  that  part  of  the  book  speak  for  itself,  and  it 
would  be  untimely  for  me  to  make  any  further  comments  on  it.  I 
shall  leave  this  to  the  intelligence  and  fairness  of  the  California  vine 
growers  to  decide  whether  I  ^a.m  right  or  not  in  my  conclusions. 

Wrights,  CaL,  March  1,  1904.  H.  HOOPS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

California  Vine  or  Anaheim  Disease — Its  Cause  and  Nature. 

This  disease  has  been  under  my  special  observation  for  the  last 
five  years.  It  may  have  been  in  this  vicinity  longer  than  that,  but 
if  it  was,  I  did  not  notice  it.  The  varieties  mostly  affected  are  the 
Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Black  Ferrara  and  Cornichon,  and  these  only 
in  such  places  where  the  soil  is  rich  the  vines  grew  vigorously  and 
bore  heavy  crops.  Where,  for  certain  reasons,  they  did  not  grow 
vigorous  foliage  or  bear  abundantly,  whether  the  soil  was  poor  or 
rich,  they  have  remained  healthy  so  far.  This  seemingly  would 
prove  the  contention  of  some,  that  the  heavy  bearing  of  a  vine  is 
the  cause  of  the  trouble.  But  Viniferas  produce  heavily  also  in 
countries  where  the  disease  is  unknown,  besides  vines  have  died 
with  it  that  did  not  bear  at  all. 

After  observing  the  disease  closely  for  the  last  four  or  five 
years,  I  believe,  I  do  not  make  a  mistake  when  I  claim,  that  its 
prime  cause  is  the  great  change  in  the  moisture  contents  of  our 
soils  from  wet  in  the  spring  to  dry  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
summer;  as  it  occurs  in  California  on  irrigated  lands  as  well  as  un- 
irrigated.  If  the  soil  was  always  as  wet  as  in  the  spring  or  always 
as  dry  as  during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  no  matter  how  small 
the  growth  of  the  vines,  there  would  not  be  this  disease. 

In  order  to  prove  this  more  clearly,  I  irrigated  some  Muscat 
and  Black  Ferrara  vines  heavily  during  the  fore  part  of  June  two 
years  ago,  as  well  as  last  year,  by  soaking  up  the  ground  thoroughly 
around  them.  The  vines  were  about  15  years  old  and  stood  on 
ground  which  had  never  been  cultivated  except  the  first  ye^r  or  two 
during  their  existence.  The  soil  they  grew  on  is  a  rich,  deep,  clayey 
loam.  As  I  left  the  trench  unworked  the  water  soon  evaporated 
and  the  ground  was  as  dry  as  ever.  Some  of  the  vines  had  an  attack 
the  first  summer  and  the  others  this  summer,  while  all  the  rest  of 
the  vines  on  the  same  uncultivated  ground,  which  were  not  irrigated, 
are  as  healthy  and  thrifty  as  ever,  in  fact  went  through  this  last  most 
trying  of  all  dry  seasons  in  this  locality  better  than  any  of  my  vines 
on  cultivated  ground.  This  was  because-  the  ground  was  dry  al- 
ready when  they  started  growth  in  the  spring  and  the  change  from 
wet  to  dry,  therefore  not  so  great.  I  have  made  other  observations 
and  conducted  other  experiments  to  prove  this  cause  as  asserted, 
but  it  would  lead  off  too  far  to  explain  them  here. 

I  suppose  the  roots  of  most  vines  are  similar  to  cuttings ;  if  cut- 
tings have  been  kept  too  wet  and  then  are  exposed  to  the  air,  they 
will  dry  out  in  a  short  time  and  be  worthless ;  but  if  they  have  been 
kept  in  dry  sand,  they  will  endure  exposure  for  a  long  time.  Stand- 
ing in  a  wet  soil  during  the  forepart  of  the  vines'  seasonal  growth 
leaves  the  roots  with  less  power  to  resist  dryness  later  on. 

I  guarantee  that  vines  cultivated  and  irrigated  both,  as  laid 
down  by  myself  in  the  chapter  on  preventive  methods,  will  never 
be  attacked.  On  the  other  hand  I  guarantee  to  produce  the  disease 
in  a  vineyard  of  a  uniform  clayey  or  loamy  soil,  where  Viniferas  on 

131303 


4      How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

their  own,  California,  Riparia  or  Rupestris  roots  are  twelve  or 
more  years  old,  but  where  at  present  no  disease  exists,  by  causing 
the  greatest  possible  difference  through  cultivation  and  irrigation 
methods  between  moisture  contents  of  soil  during  May  and  June, 
so  that  the  vine  throws  out  immense  foliage  and  sets  a  heavy  crop, 
and  moisture  contents  of  soil  during  July  and  August,  within  three 
years  from  commencement'of  treatment.  This  would  be  easy  work 
indeed,  but  I  may  be  able  to  do  the  same  thing  with  a  five-year-old 
vineyard,  at  least  in  some  localities. 

The  greater  the  difference  in  the  moisture  contents  of  a  soil  be  • 
tween  spring  and  fall,  the  greater  the  liability  of  the  vines  to  at- 
tack, not  considering  the  slight  resistance  which  some  varieties  of 
Vinifera  possess.  Such  is  generally  the  case  in  all  rich  clayey  or 
loamy  soils,  as  these  have  the  greatest  capacity  for  holding  mois- 
ture and  at  the  same  time  offer  the  greatest  facility  for  the  complete 
escape  of  moisture  through  capillary  attraction.  The  vine  on  such 
soils  causes  its  own  destruction  by  evaporating  and  depleting  the 
soil  moisture  through  its  excessive  foliage  and  crop.  Like  a  good 
many,  I  have  been  under  the  impression  that  on  rich  ground  the 
moisture  supply  never  gave  out.  Digging  down  once  during  August 
and  September  in  places  where  I  knew  the  ground  was  heavil} 
charged  with  moisture  during  spring  and  had  been  carefully  culti- 
vated and  the  vines  made  immense  growth,  I  found  the  ground 
just  as  dry  or  drier  than  in  the  poorer  places,  where  the  growth  was 
much  smaller.  The  change  from  wet  to  dry  was  much  greater  on 
the  rich  than  on  the  poor  ground  and  therefore  the  vines  suc- 
cumbed more  quickly. 

Different  from  countries  with  summer  rains,  a  distinct  differ- 
ence must  be  made  in  California  in  regard  to  soils  between  the. 
terms  "rich"  and  "moist,"  and  "poor"  and  "dry."  A  rich  soil  is  gen- 
erally wet  or  moist  in  the  spring  and  by  careful  cultivation  remains 
moist  if  there  is  not  much  growing  on  it,  but  if  any  vines  or 
trees  with  large  top-growth  are  drawing  from  its  mois- 
ture supply,  it  may  become  exceedingly  dry.  A  poor  soil 
is  not  necessarily  dry  during  the  latter  part  of  the  sum 
mer,  unless  it  is  shallow  or  clayey  at  the  same  time. 
If  it  is  loose,  deep  an4  mixed  with  gravel  and  small  rocks, 
which  form  an  impediment  to  the  rising  of  the  moisture  to  the  sur- 
face, it  generally  remains  much  moister  than  richer  soils.  As  vines 
do  not  grow  so  exuberantly  on  such  soils,  the  moisture  supply  is 
not  depleted.  Very  deep,  coarse  soils  in  valleys  may  become  dry, 
as  the  moisture  sinks  away  out  of  reach  of  the  roots  and  what  is 
left  near  the  surface,  is  soon  exhausted  by  the  vines. 

The  trouble,  of  course,  is  greatly  augmented  by  excessive  bear- 
ing of  a  vine  and  by  irregular  moisture  contents  of  a  soil  from  year 
to  year,  very  dry  seasons  following  wet  ones  and  vice  versa.  It  is 
simply  a  collapse,  paralysis  of  the  vital  energy  of  the  vine,  brought 
about  as  mentioned.  It  is  not  an  infectious  disease ;  no  vine  will 
take  it  from  another.  If  the  trouble  was  of  such  a  nature,  there  would 
not  be  any  vines  left,  even  in  northern  California,  at  this  time,  as  the 
disease  has  been  found  and  identified  already  sixteen  years  ago  in 


CALIFORNIA  VINE  OR  ANAHEIM  DISEASE — CAUSE  AND  NATURE     5 

0 

parts  of  Napa  and  Sonoma  counties  by  Professors  Viala  and  Serib- 
ner. 

That  in  some  localities  whole  vineyards  have  died  in  a  short 
time,  is  because  in  the  first  place  the  cause  and  the  augmenting 
factors  mentioned,  were  very  pronounced;  in  the  second  place  the 
vines  stood  on  a  uniform  soil,  made  uniform  growth  and  therefore 
died  off  uniformly.  On  account  of  the  richness  and  great  uniformity 
of  all  alluvial  soils  the  trouble  has  been  greatest  in  valleys.  Mount- 
ain soils  are  more  "spotted,"  and  for  this  reason  the  disease  has  ap- 
peared only  in  spots  so  far,  wherever  conditions  were  most  favor- 
able. 

It  has  been  called  by  some  the  vine-top  disease,  also  in  some 
of  the  earlier  reports  the  statement  is  made,  that  the  disease  first 
appears  at  the  end  of  the  canes.  This  is  wrong ;  tops  and  roots  are 
attacked  simultaneously,  although  generally  in  a  different  degree. 
If  the  roots  were  sound,  there  would  be  a  bushy  growth  of  healthy 
suckers  coming  from  its  base.  As  it  is,  if  these  come  at  all,  they 
only  come  sparingly  and  sickly  from  the  beginning.  True,  the 
symptoms  of  the  disease  are  first  visible  on  the  young  foliage. 

To  ascertain  this  more  clearly,  I  root-pruned  during  the  winter 
several  vines,  which  had  made  vigorous  growth  the  preceding  sum- 
mer, but  which  had  shown  signs  of  attack  in  yellow  spots  appear- 
ing on  their  leaves,  by  digging  a  trench  around  them  about  three 
feet  deep  and  four  feet  from  their  bases.  As  the  soil  was  shallow 
but  rich  and  the  vines  extended  their  roots  horizontally  in  all  di- 
rections twenty  feet  and  more,  the  root-pruning  was  thorough.  I 
also  root-pruned  some  healthy  vines  in  the  same  manner.  Exam- 
ining the  roots  of  these  vines  the  following  summer  I  found  the 
young  root-growth  on  the  healthy  ones  strong  and  sound,  but  on  the 
attacked  ones  small  and  sickly,  similar  to  the  top-growth. 

If  we  are  anxious  to  give  a  name  to  the  disease,  I  believe  "Par- 
alysis of  the  Grape  Vine"  is  the  most  appropriate  one.  I  shall  point 
out  a  few  similarities  between  human  paralysis  and  the  California 
vine  disease :  In  both  vital  activity,  which  manifests  itself  in  man 
principally  in  voluntary  motion,  and  in  the  grape  vine  in  the  growth 
of  new  wood,  is  impaired,  although  without  any  outward  sign  on 
the  main  body.  In  both  the  young  are  less  subject  to  an  attack  than 
the  old.  Like  a  human  the  vine  sometimes  is  affected  on  one  side 
only,  while  the  other  side  remains  healthy  at  least  for  some  time. 
A  predisposition  to  attack  is  increased  in  man  by  rich  living,  so 
vines  on  rich  ground  are  more  susceptible  to  the  disease  than  vines 
on  poor  ground.  In  human  paralysis  there  are  different  degrees  of 
attack,  so  vines  are  attacked  differently,  some  more  severely  than 
others. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  cuttings  taken  from  only  slightly  af- 
fected vines  will  grow  fairly  well  as  long  as  the  vines  are  young, 
the  soil  moisture  is  not  exhausted  and  so  the  cause  of  the  disease 
does  not  exist,  but  as  soon  as  this  appears  again  the  vine  has  an- 
other attack  during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  and  then  fails  to 
make  proper  growth  the  following  spring. 

In  grafting  an  old  Muscat  vine  three  years  ago,  which  had  suf- 


6       How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

fered  a  stroke  on  one  side,  to  Cornichon,  a  much  more  resistant  vari- 
ety with  me,  I  inserted  a  scion  into  the  healthy  portion  of  the  stock. 
The  graft  making  but  small  growth  the  following  two  years,  the 
vine  recovered.  If  this  was  a  disease,  permeating  the  vine  from  a 
small  beginning,  recovery  would  have  been  impossible,  considering 
its  fatal  character  otherwise. 

The  gist  of  the  whole  matter  is,  the  Viniferas  and  several  Amer- 
ican species  are  not  exactly  adapted  to  California  soil  conditions,  or 
rather  moisture  conditions  in  the  soil  as  they  generally  exist  in  cul- 
tivated ground.  They  cannot  adapt  themselves  at  first  to  an  excess 
of  moisture  and  bountiful  supply  of  food  and  within  a  short  time 
afterwards  to  great  dryness  and  scantiness  of  nourishment.  The 
vine  not  being  a  rational  and  economical  being,  during  the  forepart 
of  summer  throws  out  a  much  stronger  foliage  and  sets  a  much 
heavier  crop  than  it  can  support  properly  without  injury  to  its  vital- 
ity, although  at  the  time  without  any  apparent  distress.  This  ex- 
ceedingly free  and  excessive  growth  of  the  Viniferas,  and  still  more 
so  of  Riparia  and  Rupestris,  during  the  early  summer  constitutes 
a  second  cause  to  the  disease.  We  cannot  lessen  the  moisture  sup- 
ply of  the  soil  during  the  forepart  of  the  vine's  growth  very  well, 
except  by  quitting  irrigation  at  this  time  where  this  is  practiced, 
but  we  can  avert  the  weakening  of  the  vine  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  through  preventive  methods.  These  will  be  neces- 
sary, as  the  susceptibility  of  the  Viniferas  to  attack  by  the  disease 
increases  from  year  to  year,  so  that  in  the  future  no  locality  will  be 
exempt  from  its  ravages  without  their  employment. 

In  conformity  with  my  views  the  Lenoir  has  shown  itself  a  re- 
sistant. I  shall  state  here,  that  whenever  the  word  "resistant"  is 
used  in  this  treatise,  it  means  resistant  to  California  vine  disease, 
unless  otherwise  stated.  The  Lenoir  as  is  well  known  is  adapted 
to  wet,  heavy  soils  and  also  to  dry  ones,  if  these  are  clayey.  It  is  a 
hybrid  of  Vitis  cinerea,  adapted  to  heavy,  wet  soils,  and  a  Vinifera 
and  Astivalis  variety,  best  adapted  to  drier  conditions. 

The  Champini  also  has  outlived  almost  any  other  vine  in  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley.  It  is  a  hybrid  of  V.  candicans  with  Rupestris, 
The  former  is  adapted  both  to  very  wet  and  dry  conditions.  Al- 
though the  Champinis  are  generally  recommended  for  "dry"  soils 
only,  they  certainly  must  also  have  some  resistance  against  excess 
of  moisture,  as  they  take  considerably  after  Candicans.  For  this 
reason  vines  like  Riparia,  Rupestris  and  Vinifera,  not  possessing 
the  wide  range  of  adaptation  to  the  great  changes  from  wet  to  dry, 
as  the  two  vines  mentioned,  have  succumbed. 

It  seems  that  such  resistants  can  be  obtained  only  by  hybridiza- 
tion and  especially  by  hybridizing  species,  adapted  to  wet,  with 
some  adapted  to  drier  conditions.  Certain  it  is,  that  by  hybridiz- 
ing varieties  of  different  species,  adapted  to  different  climatic  and 
soil  conditions,  vines  can  be  produced,  possessing  a  much  greater 
power  of  adaptability  than  either  one  of  the  parents.  But  it  is  very 
likely,  that  certain  species,  as  the  Cinerea,  Cordifolia,  Berlandieri 
and  especially  the  Candicans,  have  a  great  flexibility  of  adaptation 
in  themselves.  Vines  found  wild  on  soils  of  a  close  or  compact  tex- 


CALIFORNIA  VINE  OR  ANAHEIM  DISEASE — CAUSE  AND  NATURE     7 

ture  in  countries,  where  drouths  are  not  infrequent,  must  possess 
this  characteristic,  while  vines  found  wild  on  loose  sandy  or  grav- 
elly soils,  where  the  extremes  of  wet  and  dry  do  not  occur,  are  de- 
void of  the  adaptability  to  such  conditions.  As  we  cannot  use  the 
vines  mentioned,  on  account  of  non-rooting  of  their  cuttings,  we 
shall  have  to  take  recourse  to  their  hybrids  with  Vinifera,  Riparia 
and  others,  which  have  not  this  fault. 

There  are  two  points  in  the  general  characteristics  of  Rupestris 
St.  George,  which  speak  against  its  success  in  California  viticul- 
ture. The  first  and  most  important  is,  that  it  does  not  thrive  in  dry 
shallow  soils  in  France,  although  it  is  drouth-enduring  in  "dry"  (?), 
deep  soils  on  account  of  its  deep-rooting.  This  shows  that  its  roots 
in  themselves  are  not  resistant  to  dryness.  The  second  point  is  that 
in  wet  soils  it  is  affected  with  root  rot.  We  can  see  by  this  that  it 
has  only  a  narrow  adaptation.  It  is  a  hybrid  of  V.  Monticola  and 
Rupestris  or,  as  claimed  by  some,  of  the  former  and  Riparia.  It  par- 
takes of  the  characteristics  of  the  pure  Rupestris  varieties,  but  has 
the  advantage  over  these  in  its  thicker,  more  penetrating  and  ver- 
tical roots,  which  enable  it  to  get  a  quicker  start  in  most  any  soils, 
but  especially  compact  ones. 

The  Riparia  and  Rupestris  varieties  should  as  a  rule  not  be  used 
except  where  irrigation  is  possible,  and  even  there  I  believe  other 
varieties  will  prove  more  valuable.  I  doubt  that  the  Rupestris  as 
grafting  stocks  are  more  resistant  against  extreme  dryness  than  the 
Riparias ;  I  even  doubt  that  they  are  as  hardy  against  moisture 
changes  in  the  soil  as  the  latter;  only  on  account  of  their  habit  of 
sending  down  their  roots  deeply  into  the  substrata,  where  they  gen- 
erally find  plenty  of  moisture  in  all  countries  with  summer  rains, 
they  are  more  drouth-enduring.  But  in  California  conditions  are 
different.  As  has  been  stated,  in  all  soils  of  a  compact  nature,  in- 
cluding gravelly  clays  and  loams,  especially  in  valleys  of  an  alluvial 
formation,  the  diffusion  of  moisture  through  capillary  attraction  is 
so  even  and  uniform,  that  if  these  become  dry  two  or  three  feet 
below  the  surface,  they  are  also  dry  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  further 
down,  providing  there  is  no  moisture  near  arising  from  ground 
water.  A  vine  sending  down  its  roots  deeply  into  such  soils  there- 
fore has  but  little  better  show  that  a  more  shallow-rooting  one.  Of 
course  I  do  not  want  to  be  understood,  that  deep,  penetrating  roots 
of  a  stock,  whether  these  are  laterals  from  horizontal  main  roots 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Lenoir,  or  are  vertical  main  roots  as  those  of  the 
Champini,  are  not  preferable  in  California  in  anv  soil,  as  we  can- 
not always  tell  what  is  hidden  under  the  surface.  On  the  other 
hand  mountain  soils,  especially  the  deep,  loose,  gravelly  ones,  which 
are  generally  underlaid  by  an  impenetrable  substratum,  which  does 
not  allow  the  seepage  coming  down  the  hillside  to  escape  out  oi: 
reach  of  the  roots,  give  most  any  kind  of  a  vine  a  better  chance. 
Compact  soils  in  mountains  are  more  similar  to  valley  conditions. 

While  the  Riparias  require  a  rich,  moist  soil,  the  Rupestris  are 
adapted  to  poor,  moist  gravelly  or  sandy  soils.  They  cannot  endure 
continued  dry  or  wet  conditions,  nor  great  changes  from  wet  to  dry. 
The  Rupestris  St.  George  is  similar  to  these  latter,  but  as  has  been 


8       How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

stated,  on  account  of  its  more  penetrating  roots  takes  a  quicker  start 
and  grows  more  vigorously.  But  any  vine,  which  makes  vigorous 
top-growth,  will  soon  exhaust  the  soil  moisture  in  California,  and 
then  if  it  has  not  an  inherent  resistance  to  dryness,  will  succumb. 
My  experience  with  the  Rupestris  St.  George  is,  that  it  grows  ex- 
ceedingly well  while  young,  but  as  soon  as  it  receives  a  Vinifera 
top,  attains  full  size  and  exhausts  the  soil  moisture,  it  begins  to 
show  signs  of  distress.  It  may  do  fairly  well  on  deep,  loose,  poor, 
gravelly  hillsides  in  localities  with  ample  rainfall  and  careful  culti- 
vation, but  even  on  such  soils  the  Champini  will  grow  and  pay 
much  better. 

I  shall  say  here  that  the  same  cause  may  prevent  the  thrifty 
growth  of  a  vine  or  effect  its  death  in  some  other  manner;  this 
would  be  more  the  case  on  the  poorer  soils.  For  this  reason  also 
Viniferas,  grafted  on  Riparia  or  Rupestris,  contrary  to  French  ex- 
perience, do  not  bear  so  well  or  produce  as  large  grapes  in  Califor- 
nia, as  they  do  on  their  own  roots.  The  fruit  and  leaves  of  a  vine 
sunburning  badly,  can  also  be  traced  back  to  this.  It  is  not  caused 
entirely  by  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  as  is  supposed  by  most,  but 
indirectly  and  principally  by  the  dryness  of  the  soil.  Whenever 
some  of  the  roots  become  distressed,  it  affects  those  grapes  and 
leaves,  which  are  fed  by  them.  The  sunburning  occurs  on  rich  as 
well  as  on  dry  ground  for  reasons,  which  can  easily  be  seen  from 
explanations  in  other  parts  of  this  treatise.  It  may  easily  be  de- 
ducted from  the  above  that  not  much  can  be  expected  from  the 
Riparia-Rupestris  hybrids. 

One  of  the  principal  differences  in  the  characteristics  of  plants 
of  cold  and  those  of  tropical  and  semi-tropical  countries  is  the  great- 
er or  less  amount  of  heat  there  is  required  to  cause  evaporation  of 
moisture  through  their  foliage  and  so  vital  activity.  Tropical  plants 
transplanted  into  cold  countries  would  die  for  want  of  proper  ex- 
halation of  moisture  and  sap  circulation,  and  cold  climate  plants 
transplanted  into  hot  countries  would  die  on  account  of  a  too 
rapid  evaporation  of  moisture  through  their  leaves,  but  these  latter 
would  last  much  longer  under  such  conditions,  if  the  soil  contains 
plenty  of  moisture,  than  if  it  is  deficient  in  this.  We  see  by  this  that 
adaptation  to  certain  climatic  and  soil  conditions  rests  not  only  in 
the  roots  of  a  plant  but  also  in  its  foliage.  For  this  reason  top- 
grafting  resistants  on  non-resistants  has  been  quite  effective  in  sav- 
ing Viniferas  for  a  number  of  years ;  for  the  same  reason,'  grafting 
non-resistants  on  resistants  has  not  been  a  complete  success,  at 
least  not  in  certain  localities.  But  as  some  very  fair  results  have 
been  obtained  with  grafting  stocks  like  Lenoir,  Champini  and  others 
without  any  other  precautionary  measures,  a  much  better  showing 
can  certainly  be  made  in  the  future,  considering  our  better  knowl- 
edge of  the  matter. 


PREVENTIVE  METHODS  OF  CALIFORNIA  VINE  DISEASES  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Preventive  Methods  of  California  Vine  Diseases. 
1.     Method.     Selection  of  Proper  Resistant  Grafting-Stocks. 

There  are  four  requirements  with  which  good  resistant  stocks 
should  comply :  1.  Resistance  to  California  vine  disease  or  greatest 
possible  range  of  adaptation  to  the  changes  from  wet  to  dry  in  the 
soil;  2.  Resistance  to  Phylloxera;  3.  Adaptation  to  other  climatic 
and  soil  conditions;  4.  Affinity  and  good  general  behavior  after 
grafting  to  Viniferas. 

In  order  to  overcome  the  weakness  of  the  Vinifera  top  and  as 
any  slight  injury  to  the  roots  of  a  vine  or  tree  may  cause  overbear- 
ing, an  augmenting  factor  to  the  disease,  it  is  plain,  that  only  graft- 
ing stocks  possessing  the  highest  resistance  against  the  Phylloxera 
as  well  as  the  greatest  flexibility  of  adaptation  both  to  wet  and  dry 
conditions  of  the  soil,  are  perfectly  safe.  A  resistance-coefficient  of 
16  is  generally  considered  high  enough  for  any  soil,  as  it  makes  the 
vine  safe  against  any  injury  to  its  roots  by  the  Phylloxera.  This 
does  not  say  that  a  higher  one  is  not  preferable,  providing  the  other 
qualities  of  the  stock  in  question  are  as  good.  I  have  been  under  the 
impression  for  some  time,  that  vines  with  thick  fleshy  roots  are  the 
best  for  California  conditions.  Of  two  vines,  having  the  same  adapt- 
ability, the  one  with  the  thickest  roots  will  be  the  most  dryness-en- 
during.  For  this  reason  the  Solonis,  which  has  small  roots  but  a 
great  adaptation  to  short  changes  from  wet  to  dry  and  vice  versa; 
as  is  attested  to  by  French  experience  and  that  of  Mr.  T.  V.  Mun- 
son,  does  not  last  at  all  during  our  long,  dry  summers. 

It  does  not  matter  materially,  whether  the  main  roots  extend 
themselves  horizontally  and  the  laterals  run  down  deeply,  or  the 
main  roots  approach  a  vertical  direction.  I  believe,  for  rich,  level 
and  irrigated  lands  I  should  prefer  the  former,  as  I  think  they  will 
give  better  results,  and  for  loose  gravelly  soils  the  latter.  In  such 
soils  the  moisture  cannot  rise  to  the  surface  by  capillary  attractions, 
but  settles  down  by  gravity;  the  usefulness  of  a  vine  with  very  deep 
vertical  main  roots  is  therefore  apparent 

New  vines  intended  for  stocks  can  be  tested  in  the  following 
manner:  On  a  piece  of  level,  clayey  ground,  either  shallow  or  of 
an  even  texture  to  a  great  depth,  some  of  the  vines  should  be  planted 
along  with  some  Lenoir,  Vinifera-  and  Riparia-Berlandieri  for  com- 
parison. They  should  be  either  rooted  cutting-grafts,  or  if  ungraft- 
ed  should  receive  a  Vinifera  top  as  soon  as  large  enough  for  graft- 
ing, as  testing  stocks  with  their  own  tops  would  be  of  no  importance, 
because  they  act  quite  differently  after  being  grafted.  In  order  to 
accelerate  the  testing  it  is  best  to.  plant  the  vines  rather  close,  about 
six  feet  each  way.  The  plot  should  be  well  cultivated  the  first  two 
years  in  order  to  enable  the  vines  to  get  a  quick  start.  The  third 
year  the  ground  should  also  be  well  cultivated  up  to  the  last  rain ; 
after  that  it  should  not  be  stirred  any  more,  in  order  to  let  a  crust 
form  on  the  surface.  During  June  it  should  be  irrigated  about  once 
a  week,  to  soak  it  up  well  with  water  and  the  irrigating  furrows  left 


io     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

unstirred,  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  moisture  after  irrigation  is  dis- 
continued about  the  last  of  June.  No  matter  how  the  work  is  done, 
it  should  be  performed  so,  that  the  ground  is  excessively  wet  dur- 
ing June  and  excessively  dry  during  July  and  August.  This  last 
point  should  be  ascertained,  as  the  young  vines  would  use  up  but 
very  little  moisture.  The  fourth  and  fifth  year  the  experiment  of  the 
third  year  should  be  repeated.  After  the  fifth  or  sixth  year  some  ot 
the  vine's  should  be  taken  up  to  see  if  any  dead  roots  are  present. 

For  vines  intended  for  loose,  gravelly  soils  on  hillsides  in  the 
coast  region  such  a  severe  test  as  the  above  would  not  be  necessary. 
A  piece  of  ground  of  gravelly  clay  could  be  selected  for  the  testing 
plot  and  then  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  but  without  irrigation. 
The  test  as  directed  above  is  according  to  the  climatic  conditions 
of  my  own  locality,  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains ;  the  same  conducted 
in  some  other  places  would  need  modifications.  The  vines  should 
not  suffer  so  much  during  July,  August  and  September,  as  to  be  en- 
tirely stunted  and  so  be  unable  to  make  vigorous  growth  the  follow- 
ing spring.  A  vine  injured  so  much  as  not  to  do  this,  as  is  the  case 
when  it  is  badly  damaged  by  the  Phylloxera,  is  not  attacked  by  the 
disease.  To  make  sure,  that  a  stock  entirely  overcomes  the  weak- 
ness of  its  Vinifera-top  and  makes  it  perfectly  immune  from  attack 
by  the  disease,  would  take  a  long  time,  i.  e.  if  healthy  scions  arc 
taken  for  grafting.  If  such  are  not  taken  then  the  test  would  be  in- 
adequate. All  we  can  do  is  to  find  a  hardy  root,  which  corrects  as 
much  as  possible  the  faulty  tendencies  of  its  Vinifera  top,  which  are 
excessive  spring-growth  and  lagging  activity  during  the  latter  part 
of  summer.  In  what  degree  this  is  accomplished  can  be  seen  in  the 
course  of  five  or  six  years,  if  the  above  directions  are  followed. 
Most  anybody  with  an  observing  eye  will  be  able  to  tell  in  a  few 
years,  which  will  do  and  which  will  not.  Those,  which  make  the 
most  vigorous  growth  from  the  beginning  are  not  necessarily  the 
best,  in  fact  stocks  which  cause  their  Vinifera  tops  to  make  earlier 
and  more  excessive  spring-growth  like  Riparia  and  Rupestris  do. 
will  also  increase  their  susceptibility  to  the  disease.  The  ideal  stock 
should  cause  its  graft  to  make  later  and  less  vigorous  growth  dur- 
ing spring  and  the  leaves  of  the  latter  should  not  lose  their  healthy, 
glossy  appearance  during  July  and  August,  nor  the  even  ripening 
of  its  fruit  come  to  a  standstill.  The  Lenoir  and  the  Champini  come 
very  near  having  such  an  effect  on  their  Vinifera  top.  A  perfect  de- 
velopment of  the  fruit  is  the  best  indicator  of  the  hardiness  of  the 
root  of  the  vine  or  its  adaptation  to  existing  soil  conditions. 

A  third  and  probably  the  quickest  and  most  efficacious  test,  if 
properly  and  carefully  conducted,  could  be  made  by  grafting  on  the 
resistant  stocks  cuttings  taken  out  of  a  vineyard  in  which  a  good 
many  vines  have  been  killed  off  by  the  disease.  These  cuttings 
should  be  taken  from  the  remaining,  apparently  healthy  vines  pre- 
ferably of  varieties  which  succumb  very  slowly  and  gradually,  but 
surely,  like  the  Muscat  of  Alexandria.  They  should  be  cut  up  in 
scion  lengths,  then  well  mixed  and  grafted  on  the  stocks  to  be  tried. 
Some  vines  like  Lenoir,  Champini  and  others,  whose  hardiness  is 
known,  should  be  planted  in  the  same  plot  for  comparison.  Such 


SPECIES   OF  VITIS  n 

grafts  generally,  if  the  ground  is  worked  as  directed  for  the  first 
mentioned  test,  will  show  the  disease  in  a  few -years,  no  matter  how 
hardy  the  stocks,  but  it  can  easily  be  ascertained  by  this  method, 
what  stock  has  the  greatest  beneficial  influence  on  its  Vinifera  top. 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  best  in  California  to  plant  hardy 
resistants,  which  are  free  growers,  ungrafted  in  the  field  and  let 
them  go  without  grafting  for  three  or  four  years  and  in  localities, 
where  the  disease  has  been  very  destructive  or  if  Viniferas  are  want- 
ed, which  are  very  susceptible  to  the  disease,  even  longer.  In  post- 
poning the  grafting,  the  vines  are  not  weakened  with  a  Vinifera  top, 
while  very  young,  as  the  latter  is  apt  to  weaken  most  any  stock, 
which  will  be  explained  later.  It  is  possible  that  certain  hardy 
resistants  which  are  slow  growers,  are  induced  to  quicker  growth, 
if  they  receive  a  Vinifera  top  while  very  young,  as  the  more  quickly 
and  freely  growing  Riparia  and  Rupestris  stocks  have  this  same  ef- 
fect on  their  grafts.  In  such  cases  it  may  be  advantageous  if  a 
quicker  growth  is  desired,  to  make  cutting-grafts  or  graft  the  vines 
in  the  field  while  they  are  young.  . 

Species  of  Vitis,  Valuable  for  Hybridizing  in  the  Creation  of  New 

Grafting-Stocks. 

V.  candicans  or  Mustang  grape.  This  is  considered  the 
hardiest  of  any  American  species  and  occurs  according  to 
T.  V.  Munson,  in  lower  as  well  as  upper  bottoms  of  upland  ravines 
on  the  "black  waxy  lands."  Such  soils  are  exceedingly  wet  while  the 
rains  last,  but  become  during  a  drouth  exceedingly  dry,  much  drier 
than  the  more  elevated,  loose,  gravelly  soils,  generally  called  dry. 
In  fact  two  of  its  hybrids,  Champini  and  Elvicand  (Cand.  Riparia 
Labrusca),  have  outlived  any  other  vines,  used  as  grafting  stocks 
on  Mr.  William  Pfeffer's  place  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

V.  cinerea.  This  vine  has  thick,  fleshy  roots  and  occurs  wild 
on  rich  heavy  soils,  although  also  on  rich  sandy  soils.  From  it  its 
progeny,  the  Lenoir,  has  undoubtedly  inherited  the  greater  portion 
of  its  wide  range  of  adaptation.  I  should  like  to  ask  those,  who 
claim  the  Lenoir  to  be  a  pure  Vinifera,  how  they  explain  its  great 
resemblence  to  the  Cinerea  in  leaf  and  root;  also,  where  its  resist- 
ance to  Phylloxera  conies  from.  It  would  be  the  only  Vinifera  pos- 
sessing this  resistance. 

V.  cordifolia  occurs  on  "the  lower  and  higher  bottoms  of  up- 
land ravines."  It  has  produced  vines  having  the  largest  trunks  of 
any  American  species  and  has  very  thick,  penetrating,  highly  Phyll- 
oxera-resisting roots.  The  hybrids  Riparia-Cordifolia-Rupestris 
1068  and  Solonis-Cordifolia-Rupestris  2024  may  have  some  value 
for  California,  but  no  attention  must  be  paid  to  French  experi- 
menters' recommendations  of  vines  for  clays.  The  fact  is  that  even 
for  our  gravelly  and  sandy  unirrigated  lands  we  can  use  with  safety 
only  vines  which  have  stood  the  test  on  clays  in  countries  with  sum- 
mer rains  and  only  very  few  kinds  of  such.  I  don't  think  the  two 
hybrids  mentioned  are  as  well  adapted  to  California  clays  as  the 


12     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

Lenoir  is  and  can  fill  its  place;  still  they  may  have  great  value  for 
soils  which  'have  been  considered  well  suited  for  Riparia  hereto- 
fore. Most  any  vine,  which  thrives  in  clays,  will  do  well  also  in 
gravelly  or  sandy  soils  of  rich  or  medium  quality. 

V.  Berlandieri.  This  species  occurs  along  the  top  of  lime- 
stone ridges  as  well  as  on  creek  bottoms  of  western  Texas  anci  ad- 
joining territories,  but  it  is  also  found  on  compact  soils.  As  this 
is  in  a  very  dry  region,  its  scope  of  adaptation  probably  approaches 
more  extreme  dry  than  moist  conditions.  It  is  probably  more 
dryness-enduring  than  any  other  species  of  Vitis.  The  Riparia-Ber- 
landieris  are  recommended  to  us  by  French  experimenters  as  pos- 
sessing the  very  qualities  which  will  prove  so  valuable  in  California. 
The  Vinifera-  and  Rupestris-Berlandieris  will  very  likely  also  have 
very  great  value,  especially  for  coarse  gravelly  soils  or  dry  clayey 
ridges  and  slopes  in  mountains,  which  never  hold  a  great  excess  of 
moisture.  The  above  named  four  species  have  a  great  affinity  in 
grafting  to  the  Viniferas,  which  is  very  important. 

V.  riparia.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  roots  of  vines  of  this 
species  have  a  fairly  good  adaptability  to  moisture  changes  pro- 
vided the  soil  does  not  become  too  dry,  but  on  account  of  their 
fineness,  shallowness  and  lack  of  penetrating  power,  the  Riparia 
as  grafting  stock  has,  as  a  rule,  not  been  a  success  on  unirrigated 
lands  in  California.  Considering  its  value  as  a  grafting  stock  in 
other  respects,  Riparia  hybrids  therefore  without  the  faults  of  the 
pure  varieties  and  all  their  good  qualities  should  prove  a  success. 

V.  rupestris.  This  species  has  little  adaptability;  the  pure 
varieties  therefore  have  no  value  for  California.  Hybrids  possess- 
ing their  adaptability  to  poor  soils  and  their  deep,  downward  roots, 
but  stronger  and  hardier,  would  have  usefulness  for  poor  gravelly 
soils.  Very  much  misleading  is  in  French  writings  on  viticultural 
topics  the  expression  "dry  soils,"  by  which  generally  coarse  grav- 
elly soils  are  meant.  True,  deep  gravelly  soils,  which  are  the  only 
ones  that  have  been  found  to  be  well  adapted  to  Rupestris  in 
France,  are  not  excessively  wet  during  a  rainy  spell,  but  neither 
are  they  as  dry  in  their  lower  depths  at  the  end  of  a  drouth  as  the 
richer  close-textured  soils.  The  Rupestris  occurs  wild  in  the  grav- 
elly and  rocky  beds  of  "dry"  runs  and  creeks,  which  contain  no 
water  visible  after  springtime,  but  in  a  good  many  cases  this  has 
simply  sunk  out  of  sight.  Moisture  arising  from  such  water,  with 
occasional  rains  produce  ideal  conditions  for  this  species. 

V.  californica.  This,  our  own'  native  vine,  whose  great  value 
in  this  respect  has  been  unwisely  overlooked  in  late  years.  Its  fault 
of  lack  of  proper  resistance  against  Phylloxera  and  of  sufficient 
hardiness  should  be  very  small  trouble  to  correct  by  proper  hybrid- 
ization with  any  of  the  four  species  ahead  in  this  list.  No  vine  of 
purely  American  origin  is  superior  to  it  in  adaptation  to  our  cli- 
matic conditions  and  in  easy  rooting  from  cuttings.  Riparias  and 
Rupestris,  especially  the  latter,  which  is  apt  to  give  a  treacherous 
character  even  to  a  hybrid,  could  be  dispensed  with  entirely,  as  the 
Californica  will  do  better  than  either  of  the  two  in  most  any  soil, 
poor  or  rich. 


SELECTION  OF  HEALTHY  CUTTINGS  FOR  SCIONS  13 

t 

V.  vinifera.This  last,  but  not  least,  on  account  of  its  large  and 
spreading  roots  and  great  adaptation  to  different  soils;  it  also  sup- 
plies a  greater  affinity  and  homogeneousness  to  the  stock  with  its 
Vinifera  top.  The  stronger  the  root  system  and  the  closer  the  rela- 
tion between  stock  and  graft,  the  better  are  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess. A  hybrid  like  Aramon  Rupestris  No.  II  may  give  fairly  good 
results,  where  proper  irrigation  can  be  practiced,  but  I  believe, 
hardier  stocks  than  this  or  Riparia  will  prove  more  profitable,  as 
less  water  will  be  required  and  a  better  quality  of  fruit  obtained. 

It  is  always  safest  to  employ  several  different  resistant  stocks 
for  the  same  Vinifera  variety  with  special  reference,  of  course,  to 
their  like  or  dislike  of  existing  soil  conditions  and  to  their  affinity 
to  intended  grafts,  as  our  experience  in  this  line  is  too  limited  to 
tell  to  a  certainty,  what  stock  will  prove  the  most  successful,  and 
so  serious  losses  are  avoided  and  in  course  of  time  a  good  deal  of 
practical  knowledge  is  gained.  All  we  can  do  at  present  is  giving 
the  Viniferas  a  root,  which  is  hardy  against  moisture  changes  in 
the  soil  and  resistant  to  Phylloxera.  What  stock  will  exercise  the 
greatest  influence  on  the  grafts  in  regard  to  good  behavior  and 
longevity  of  vine,  only  time  will  tell.  With  proper  grafting-stocks 
and  selection  of  healthy  cuttings  for  scions,  as  will  be  ex- 
plained immediately  below  this,  better  results  should  be 
obtained  than  have  been  with  the  first  importations  from  Europe, 
not  considering  other  preventive  measures,  which  we  can  take. 
The  four  species  Candicans,  Cineria,  Cordifolia  and  Berlandieri 
attain  large  size  and  have  great  vigor  in  their  native  home,  but 
make  only  a  sluggish  growth  under  California  climatic  conditions. 
Their  value  is  in  hybridization  with  species  which  grow  too  freelv 
during  the  forepart  of  summer.  Those  hybrids  which  take  more 
after  the  named  species  in  their  habit  of  growth,  will  very  likely  be 
valuable  for  hot  interior  locations  or  places,  where  the  California 
vine  disease  has  been  very  destructive,  while  hybrids,  taking  more 
after  Vinifera,  Riparia,  etc.,  will  have  the  greatest  value  for  cool, 
moist  coast  mountain  regions,  or  where  vines  like  Petite  Sirah, 
Beclan  and  Cabernet  are  intended  for  grafts  and  have  too  little 
vigor  on  their  own  roots. 

2.     Method.     Selection  of  Healthy  Cuttings  for  Scions. 

This  is  probably  the  most  serious  part  of  the  problem,  as  it  will 
be  difficult  in  a  good  many  parts  of  California  to  get  such.  The 
disease  does  not  come  as  suddenly  with  a  good  many  varieties  as 
is  generally  supposed.  The  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  for  instance, 
will  bear  heavy  crops  with  me  for  years,  after  having  sustained  its 
first  attack.  Others  like  Black  Ferrara  succumb  more  quickly. 
Yellow  or  brown  spots  on  the  leaves  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
summer  are  generally  a  sure  symptom  that  the  vine  has  suffered 
an  attack.  With  some  varieties  the  leaves  curl  up  and  the  spots 
are  very  small.  The  fruit  and  the  wood  fails  to  mature  and  develop 
properly,  the  berries  being  sour  and  of  small  size.  The  following 
spring,  according  to  the  severity  of  the  attack,  the  vine  makes  only 
a  small  growth  or  none  at  all.  If  the  attack  was  very  light,  the 


14     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

growth  may  reach  half  dimensions,  but  in  a  year  or  two  generally 
another  attack  follows,  which  kills  the  vine.  A  predisposition 
manifests  itself  in  excessive  crops,  less  in  loss  of  vigor.  As  has 
been  previously  stated,  cuttings  taken  from  only  slightly  affected 
vines  will  grow  fairly  well  for  a  few  years,but  soon  succumb 
The  Viniferas  growing  for  a  number  of  years  under  favorable  soil 
conditions  in  California,  a  strong  predisposition  to  the  disease  is 
created  or  augmented  in  them,  long  before  they  are  actually  at- 
tacked. Vines  propagated  from  cuttings,  taken  from  such  appar- 
ently healthy  vines,  will  make  satisfactory  growth  for  several 
years,  but  if  conditions  for  the  development  of  the  disease  become 
more  favorable  again,  will  succumb  much  more  quickly  than  the 
mother  vines,  from  which  they  originated.  It  is,  therefore,  very 
unsafe,  to  take  cuttings  out  of  a  vineyard,  in  which  the  disease  has 
appeared  to  any  extent,  and  especially  unsafe  if  such  a  vineyard 
is  old  and  located  on  alluvial  soil  in  a  valley,  where  the  disease 
has  been  very  virrulent  in  other  parts  of  it.  It  is  very  probable  thai 
the  reason  why  in  former  years  the  disease  has  been  less  con- 
spicuous, is  because  the  first  vines  were  propagated  from  perfectly 
sound  cuttings,  imported  from  Europe  or  which  came  from  young 
perfectly  healthy  vines.  A  similar  degeneration  is  met  with  in  an- 
nual plants,  as  some  kinds  of  potatoes,  wheat,  etc.,  which,  when 
first  introduced  into  a  new  locality,  do  exceedingly  well,  but  after 
their  culture  for  3  or  4  years  degenerate  and  fail  to  give  satisfactory 
leturns.  Propagation  through  cuttings  is  simply  a  prolongation 
of  the  life  of  the  old  vine  and  young  vines  thus  started  commence 
life  with  all  the  weakness  and  infirmities  of  the  old  mother  vines. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  plot  of  vines  simply  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  cuttings  for  new  plantations.  These  vines  should  be 
carefully  irrigated  according  to  directions  given  below.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  only  sound  vines  are  planted  in  such  plots ; 
they  should  be  grafted  on  stocks  which  are  known  to  be  hardy. 
Where  cuttings  are  taken  from  a  field  it  is  safest  to  take  them  from 
young  vines  from  three  to  six  years  old.  Cuttings  taken  from  vines 
on  poor  gravelly  hillsides  in  cool  localities  with  ample  rainfall  are 
better  than  if  taken  from  vines  on  rich  ground  of  any  description 
or  any  locality.  Instead  of  grafting  resistants  on  old  worthless 
Viniferas  for  the  procuring  of  strong  cuttings,  as  the  prevailing 
custom  is,  they  should  be  grafted  only  on  young  vigorous  vines, 
or  still  better,  if  such  mother  vines  stand  on  their  own  roots  or  on 
some  other  hardy  stocks. 

In  localities  where  the  disease  has  been  very  destructive  it  is 
probably  best  to  grow  only  such  Viniferas,  which  in  the  past  have 
shown  the  greatest  resistance  to  the  trouble.  These  are  according 
to  my  experience  those  varieties  which  start  growth  late  in  the 
spring,  mature  their  fruit  early,  do  not  overbear  nor  make  excessive 
woodgrowth,  as  Petite  Sirah,  Beclan,  Franken  Reisling,  Cabernet 
and  others.  Of  course  there  are  vines  like  Tokay,  Verdel,  Gren- 
ache  and  Carignan,  that  have  shown  a  greater  resistance,  if  stand- 
ing on  a  favorable  soil  than  smaller  growers  and  smaller  bearers, 
probably  on  account  of  their  stronger  and  more  penetrating  roots. 


PROPER  PREPARATION  OF  SOIL  BEFORE  PLANTING      15 

p 

But  if  the  root  given  them  is  not  as  strong  as  their  own,  they  may 
succumb  more  quickly  or  at  least  will  not  prove  so  profitable.  It 
is  rather  difficult  to  tell  at  the  present  time,  what  Vinifera  variety 
is  the  most  resistant  to  the  disease,  as  this  would  depend  on  the 
length  of  time  a  variety  has  been  cultivated  in  California,  whether 
the  first  imported  cuttings  were  propagated  on  their  own  roots  or 
grafted  on  some  old  Vinifera  vines,  on  what  soil  and  in  what  local- 
ity the  first  vines,  which  furnished  most  of  the  cuttings  for  later 
plantings,  were  grown,  etc. 

3.     Method.     Proper  Preparation  of  the  Soil  Before  Planting. 

Before  vines  are  planted  the  ground  should  be  turned 
over  deeply,  no  matter  how  rich  the  soil.  To  run  a 
subsoiler  in  the  furrow  is  an  improvement  to  the  old 
method  of  simply  plowing  the  ground;  but  even  this 
can  be  greatly  improved  by  following  the  first  plow 
up  with  another  plow  in  the  same  furrow  instead  of  the  subsoiler 
and  throwing  the  bottom  soil  up  on  top.  The  humus  of  which 
there  is  a  considerable  amount  left  in  most  surface  soils,  should 
be  turned  down  as  deeply  as  possible,  in  order  to  prevent  com- 
bustion of  its  organic  matter,  so  disastrous  in  its  effects  during  our 
long  dry  summers,  and  the  purely  mineral  ingredients  of  the  sub- 
soil turned  up  to  the  surface  for  exposure  to  the  air,  light  and  rains, 
to  dissolve  their  plant  foods.  While  doing  this  work,  if  the  top- 
soil  is  devoid  of  humus,  do  not  forget  to  put  abundant  organic  mat- 
ter in  the  form  of  green  or  stable  manure,  straw,  etc.,  in  the  bottom 
of  the  furrow  and  remember  that  this  is  the  only  chance  you  have 
to  cause  any  material  good  with  such  things  in  a  vineyard  grow- 
ing under  California  conditions.  Young  vines  planted  on  such 
ground  will  extend  their  roots  deeply,  as  they  find  nitrogen  of 
which  they  are  in  great  need  and  the  best  of  other  ready  plant 
foods  at  a  depth  that  will  not  easily  get  dry.  If  these  foods  are 
near  the  surface,  the  vines  will  either  have  to  do  without  them  or 
else  their  main  roots  will  be  very  shallow  and  more  exposed  to 
moisture  changes.  Such  described  work  puts  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  a  soil  at  its  best,  which  is  according  to  the  experience  of  the 
best  cultivators  of  the  soil  the  most  important. 

The  value  of  humus  consists  further  not  only  in  the  fact  that 
it  is  the  sole  source  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil,  but  also  in  the  generation 
of  carbonic  acid,  so  important  in  creating  new  and  different  com- 
binations with  mineral  bases  for  plant  foods  directly  and  indirectly, 
which  would  otherwise  remain  unavailable  on  account  of  their  in- 
solubility. This  work  as  described  has  really  but  little  to  do  with 
the  point  in  question,  but  I  inserted  it  to  make  the  following  better 
understood. 

4.     Method.     Proper  Cultivation. 

With  the  exception  of  the  first  year,  during  which 
they  should  receive  good  care  in  order  to  keep  them 
alive,  young  vines  should  have  only  the  minimum  mois- 
ture allowance,  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  them  thrifty. 
How  much  this  is  cannot  be  given  in  a  certain  rule,  as  it  would 


16     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

depend  on  the  different  soil  and  climatic  conditions  of  different 
localities.  It  may  be  said  that  excessive  moisture  during  spring 
should  be  avoided.  After  the  late  rains  in  the  spring  the  ground 
should  be  allowed  to  dry  off  well  first  before  it  is  gone  over  with 
the  cultivator  or  harrow,  and  then  of  course  it  should  be  worked 
thoroughly.  Excessive  soil  moisture  produces  shallow  and  tender 
roots  and  soft  top-growth,  scantiness  of  moisture  makes  deep, 
hardy  roots  and  tough  top-growth.  How  well  the  moisture  con- 
tents of  a  soil  in  California  can  be  regulated  by  more  or  less  culti- 
vation is  not  as  well  understood  as  it  should  be.  Even  the  Riparia 
can  be  hardened  and  made  deep-rooting  by  such  treatment. 

By  the  time  the  vines  are  seven  years  old,  they  will  be  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  vicissitudes  of  California  soil  conditions. 
After  that  the  moisture  allowance  should  be  increased  gradually 
from  year  to  year,  as  their  larger  growth  demands  it.  )t  is  about 
as  harmful  to  the  health  of  the  vines  to  hold  excessive  moisture  ir. 
a  vineyard  that  previously  has  been  neglected  for  one  or  more 
years,  as  it  is  to  neglect  a  vineyard  that  has  had  good  care  before. 
The  more  uniform  the  moisture  supply  is  one  year  after  anothet, 
the  better  it  will  be  for  the  welfare  of  the  vines.  Very  much  mis-- 
calculated is  also  the  practice  of  some  who  raise  nursery  stock  in  a 
wet  place  with  stagnant  water  near  the  surface.  Such  vines,  espe- 
cially if  they  are  intended  to  go  on  dry  ground,  are  worthless. 

5.     Method.     Summer  Pruning. 

In  order  to  prevent  unnecessary  woodgrowth  and  in 
consequence  exhaustion  of  soil  moisture,  it  is  well  to 
deprive  the  vine  when  it  has  attained  an  age  of  6  or  7 
years,  of  some  of  its  foliage  and  stop  its  extending  itself  to  its  full- 
est capacity.  In  doing  this  I  top  those  canes,  that  come  down  to 
the  ground  and  trail  along  for  some  distance  or  which  catch  the 
neighboring  vines,  by  cutting  them  off  where  they-  touch  the 
ground.  This  should  be  done  before  the  canes  become  woody, 
about  two  weeks  before  the  vine  gets  its  full  growth,  generally 
with  me  about  the  first  or  second  week  in  July.  The  vines  will  quit 
growing  then,  but  if  done  too  early  it  will  have  no  effect,  as  they 
will  throw  out  a  lot  of  laterals  and  keep  on  growing.  I  know  it 
is  generally  advised  against  such  work,  but  I  believe  it  is  much  bet- 
ter to  check  the  vigor  of  a  vine  growing  under  California  climatic 
and  soil  conditions  somewhat  than  to  have  it  collapse  later  on  ac- 
count of  too  much  ambition.  If  not  too  many  canes  are  topped  or 
the  work  is  done  too  late,  I  fail  to  see  that  it  postpones  the  matur- 
ing of  the  fruit  any.  Where  simple  pinching  of  the  terminal  buds 
has  the  desired  effect;  as  may  be  done  with  the  smaller  growers, 
then  this  is  certainly  preferable. 

In  order  to  do  this  work  effectively  the  winter-pruning  should 
be  close  and  short.  All  suckers  as  well  as  some  of  the  smaller 
fruit-canes  should  be  removed  while  they  are  small  and  can  easily 
be  rubbed  off.  It  is  best  to  go  over  a  vineyard  several  times  during 
the  summer  to  do  this  and  never  should  a  large  lot  of  strong  suck- 


THINNING  OUT  OLD  VINEYARDS  AND  ROOT-PRUNING  17 

ers  be  removed  at  one  time,  as  this  would  check  the  growth  of  the 
vine  too  much. 

6.     Method.    Thinning  Out  Old  Vineyards  and  Root-Pruning. 

After  the  vines  get  about  15  years  old  and  have  quit  extending 
themselves,  or  as  soon  as,  or  still  better,  before  the  first  signs  of 
the  disease  appear,  I  believe  it  best  to  thin  out  some  of  them,  es- 
pecially if  they  have  been  planted  too  close,  as  trees  and  vines  gen- 
erally are  in  California.  This  will  give  the  remaining  ones  more 
moisture  during  the  latter  part  of  summer  and  make  the  difference 
between  spring  and  fall  moisture  contents  of  soil  less.  These 
should  be  root-pruned  during  the  winter  about  half-ways  between 
the  rows,  which  can  easily  be  accomplished  -by  horse-power  with 
an  implement,  which  could  be  devised  for  this  purpose.  On  rich 
ground,  the  only  kind  on  which  it  would  be  necessary,  the  main 
roots  of  Viniferas  and  of  a  good  many  American  species  are  shal- 
low, generally  from  6  to  12  inches  below  the  depth  the  plowing  has 
been  done. 

It  is  best  to  plant  vines  at  a  greater  distance  than  they  gener- 
ally are.  From  10  to  12  feet  each  way  for  valleys  and  from  9  to  10 
feet  for  mountains  is  not  too  far.  The  distance  should  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  richness  of  the  soil,  the  richer  and  compacter  this  is  the 
greater  the  distance.  It  does  not  matter  much,  whether  the  tri- 
angular or  the  square  form  is  used ;  the  number  of  vines  to  the  acre 
will  tell,  whether  there  are  too  many  or  not.  On  very  rich  sand\; 
or  clayey  loams  in  cool,  moist  localities,  vines,  which  ripen  their 
fruit  late,  should  not  have  quite  the  maximum  distance,  as  this 
would  retard  the  maturity  of  the  fruit.  As  soon  as  such  plantings 
are  about  10  or  12  years  old  root-pruning  should  be  practiced  oc- 
casionally. As  this  has  a  dwarfing  effect  on  vines  or  trees  and  de- 
creases their  vigor,  its  usefulness  will  be  seen.  Smaller  vines  and 
more  space  to  hold  reserve  moisture  for  their  proper  maintenance 
is  the  object  desired.  If  root-pruning  is  omitted,  the  vines  will  in 
course  of  time  occupy  the  whole  of  the  ground  and  make  condi- 
tions as  bad  as  ever.  There  are  single  vines  in  the  world  that 
occupy  from  one-half  to  one  acre  of  ground.  On  poor  gravelly 
soils  where  vines  make  but  small  growth,  root-pruning  is  not 
necessary,  as  the  vines  have  not  enough  vigor  to  extend  their  roots 
through  the  whole  of  the  ground  allotted  to  them,  if  planted  far 
enough  apart  in  the  first  place.  No  apprehension  need  be  felt  that 
they  will  not  produce  as  heavy  crops  per  acre  as  with  closer  plant- 
ing. These  will  be  just  as  large  if  not  larger  and  a  better  quality 
produced.  Although  this  will  not  come  quite  as  soon,  vineyardists 
will  be  amply  reimbursed  in  the  saving  of  labor  and  other  expenses. 

7.     Method.     Grafting  Over  of  Old  Vines. 

Grafting  over  a  whole  block,  or  still  better,  a  whole  tract  of 
vines,  especially  to  more  resistant  Viniferas,  is  sufficient  to  post- 
pone the  disease  for  several  years,  because  for  the  first  time,  since 
attaining  full  growth,  as  the  grafts  start  later  and  their  growth  is 
generally  smaller,  they  have  plenty  of  moisture  during  the  latter 


1 8     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

part  of  summer.     It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  vines  at  grafting 
must  be  perfectly  healthy. 

Cutting  down  vines  about  an  inch  below  the  surface  during 
winter  also  has  a  salutary  effect.  It  may  be  better  in  California 
to  do  this  towards  spring,  as  the  bleeding  of  the  vines  keeps  back 
the  growth  till  the  excess  of  moisture  has  disappeared  from  the  soil. 
This  work  should  also  be  done  in  large  tracts,  as  the  moisture  can 
be  held  more  uniformly  in  the  ground  than  if  done  in  small  blocks. 
It  may  also  be  that  late  pruning  has  a  beneficial  effect  in  this  re- 
spect as  it  decreases  the  vigor  of  the  vines  somewhat. 

8.     Method.     Irrigation. 

This  is  probably  the  best  preventive  of  any,  if  properly  applied, 
but  as  it  is  generally  practiced,  i.  e.,  filling  up  the  ground  with  water 
in  the  spring,  when  it  is  too  wet  already,  it  is  apt  to  make  matters 
worse.  Vines  should  not  be  irrigated,  barring  exceptional  cases 
irom  this  statement,  till  about  two  weeks  after  the  bloom.  As 
irrigation  during  the  summer  creates  shallow  root-growth,  this 
must  be  kept  alive  and  healthy  by  a  repetition  of  the  practice,  at 
least  on  heavy  soils  in  some  localities.  Shallow  root-growth  can  be 
prevented  by  plowing  deep  furrows  to  let  the  water  down  into 
the  ^ubsoil  and  so  avoid  moistening  of  the  surface.  Care  should 
be  takers  not  to  cut  any  of  the  main  roots  during  the  summer,  as 
this  would  be  apt  to  weaken  the  vine.  It  is  self-evident  that  the 
furrows  should  be  well  filled  up  with  loose,  dry  soil,  after  the 
ground  is  dry  enough  to  do  this  properly.  The  water  should  al- 
ways be  applied  in  the  same  places.  Young  vines  should  not  be 
irrigated,  unless  it  is  impossible,  as  may  be  the  case  in  some  in- 
terior localities,  to  keep  them  in  healthy  growing  condition  without 
:t.  In  such  cases  it  should  be  done  early  and  not  late. 

The  cause  of  the  trouble  may  also  be  explained  thus :  The 
climatic  and  soil  conditions  of  California  being  both  very  favorable 
during  the  forepart  of  the  season,  cause  the  vine  to  make  excessive 
and  soft  growth  in  root  and  top ;  while  the  climatic  conditions  re- 
main the  same,  the  soil  condition  becomes  very  adverse  later  on. 
So  a  good  way  to  strengthen  vines  again,  which  are  weak  already  in 
this  respect,  would  be  to  hold  only  a  fair  amount  of  moisture  in  the 
soil  with  spring  cultivation  and  then  irrigate  heavily  and  frequent- 
ly later  in  the  season,  where  this  can  be  done.  For  reasons  ob- 
vious from  the  above  young  vines  are  seldom  attacked,  even  if  the 
cuttings  used  for  their  propagation  were  taken  from  vines,  in  which 
a  predisposition  to  the  disease  was  already  strongly  developed,  be- 
cause they  have  plenty  of  moisture  during  the  latter  part  of  the  sea- 
son, as  they  do  not  make  sufficient  growth  to  exhaust  the  moisture 
supply. 

All  these  preventive  methods  are  given  with  regard  to  Vini- 
feras  on  their  own  roots.  Whether  these,  excepting  proper  irriga- 
tion, would  be  of  much  avail  for  vines  grafted  on  Rupestris,  which 
has  a  much  weaker  adaptation  in  this  respect  than  the  Vinifera 
root  has,  I  cannot  tell. 

Resume:     In  order  to  prevent  the  disease,  be  very  careful  in 


SPRAYING  THE  VINES  19 

• 

the  selection  of  healthy  grafting  wood,  decrease  the  excessive  vigor 
of  vine  through  choice  of  proper  stocks,  by  summer-top  and  win- 
ter-root pruning;  make  it  drouth-enduring,  by  giving  it  a  hardier, 
more  penetrating  root  and  by  diminishing  its  foliage  somewhat, 
where  this  is  excessive.  It  is  possible  that  in  course  of  time  graft- 
ing-stocks will  be  found,  which  will  make  any  other  preventive 
method,  excepting  the  selection  of  healthy  scions,  unnecessary. 
Where  plenty  of  water  is  available,  proper  irrigation  alone  is  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  disease. 

All  preventive  methods  should  be  commenced  in  time.  No 
diseased  vine  can  be  cured  permanently;  even  a  vine,  which  has 
developed  a  strong  predisposition  to  the  disease  is  difficult  to  save, 
unless  a  copious  water  supply  for  irrigation  is  at  hand. 

9.     Method.     Spraying  the  Vines. 

In  places  where  the  conditions  for  the  development  of  the  dis- 
ease are  known  to  be  very  favorable  and  the  two  first  mentioned 
preventive  measures  have  been  neglected,  or  in  order  to  save  vines 
which  are  very  susceptible  to  the  disease  and  show  signs  of  weak- 
ening, another  preventive  may  be  employed  or  rather  experimented 
with,  viz :  Spraying  the  vines  with  some  liquid,  preferably  of  a 
whitish  color,  which  covering  part  of  the  leaves  would  prevent  ex- 
cessive evaporation  of  moisture  and  sap.  In  an  experimental  way 
I  have  found  spraying  with  the  Bordeaux  mixture  right  after  top- 
ping of  the  vines  quite  effective  in  this  regard,  but  a  cheaper  spray 
may  be  just  as  beneficial.  Some  wild  plants  and  shrubs  with  shiny, 
glossy  leaves,  which  in  spite  of  shallow  roots  and  large  tops  or 
standing  on  solid  beds  of  clay,  are  exceedingly  drouth-enduring, 
have  come  to  my  notice.  This  glossy  appearance  of  the  leaves, 
which  is  most  intense,  the  hotter  the  sun  is,  is  undoubtedly  caused 
by  the  exudation  of  a  gummy  matter  covering  the  leaves  and  pre- 
venting a  too  rapid  escape  of  moisture.  The  upper  surface  of  tUe 
leaves  of  Lenoir,  Champini,  Berlandieri  and  others  presents  a  sim- 
ilar appearance.  Some  species  and  varieties  of  Vitis,  which  are 
known  to  be  very  hardy,  but  which  do  not  possess  glossy  leaves, 
undoubtedly  have  a  drouth-resistant  power  in  their  foliage  of 
some  other  character.  It  is  also  possible  that  with  some  vines 
such  hardiness  rests  altogether  in  the  peculiar  structure  of  their 
leaves  and  none  in  their  roots,  but  the  success  that  has  been  ob- 
ta.'ned  with  Lenoir  and  Champini,  points  in  the  direction,  where  to 
get  our  grafting  stocks. 

As  an  example  of  the  anomaly,  just  mentioned,  I  may  name 
the  Rupestris  St.  George,  which  seems  to  be  much  hardier  before 
than  after  grafting.  Its  strength  lies  in  its  top  and  its  weakness  in 
its  roots  in  spite  of  their  great  penetrating  power.  The  weakness 
of  the  Viniferas  is  in  their  foliage  and  their  strength  in  their  roots 
at  least  in  this  respect.  If  we  could  create  a  Phylloxera-resistant 
stock  with  the  large  and  spreading  roots  of  a  Tokay,  for  instance, 
but  much  hardier,  we  should  have  a  valuable  grafting  stock.  For 
this  reason  the  Lenoir,  which  has  hardy  thick  roots  and  is  a  Vini- 
fera-American  hybrid,  comes  nearer  being  as  ideaj  a  grafting  stock, 


20     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

at  least  for  rich  soils,  as  anything  we  have  at  present,  if  it  only 
had  a  higher  resistance  against  the  Phylloxera.  It  is  not  adapted 
to  poor  gravelly  soils  as  the  Champini  is.  On  account  of  its  Rupest- 
ris  strain,  this  latter  hybrid  probably  would  be  entirely  safe  only 
on  somewhat  deep,  well-drained  gravelly  soils,  including  poor  grav- 
elly clays  and  loams.  It  is  very  hardy  on  such  soils  in  my  own 
locality  and  vines  bear  heavily  on  it.  A  mistake  has  been  made  in 
the  Santa  Clara  valley  undoubtedly  in  the  use  of  unsound  grafting 
wood  and  in  planting  it  mostly  on  very  compact  soils,  to  which  it  is 
not  adapted.  The  Champinis  occur  wild  mostly  on  soils  similar  to 
those  on  which  the  wild  Rupestris  grow,  but  richer  and  in  a  drier 
region  and  on  much  drier  ground.  A  vine  growing  wild  on  a  rich 
soil,  even  if  this  is  gravelly  and  mixed  with  small  rocks,  has  a 
greater  range  of  adaptation  to  moisture  changes  than  a  vine  occur- 
ring on  such  soils  which  are  almost  devoid  of  humus  and  fine  earth. 

Aside  from  the  hardiness  of  its  roots  the  Lenoir  has  the  ideal 
form  of  root-system  for  rich,  heavy  soils,  which  hold  excessive 
moisture  during  spring  and  are  apt  to  become  dry  later,  in  extend- 
ing its  main  roots  horizontally  under  the  surface  and  its  strong, 
penetrating  laterals  down  vertically  to  a  great  depth. 

The  resistance-coefficient  of  Lenoir  is  12  and  that  of  Champini 
14,  which  have  not  been  found  adequate  under  the  climatic  condi- 
tions of  France.  Which  is  the  minimum  resistance  absolutely 
safe  under  California  conditions  is  still  an  open  question.  It  is 
known  that  Viniferas  do  not  succumb  as  quickly  here  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  Phylloxera  as  they  do  in  France,  which  may  be  ex- 
plained by  the  fact,  that  decay  of  the  roots,  which  causes  the  death 
of  the  vines,  does  not  proceed  as  rapidly  in  our  soils  during  the 
summer,  as  it  does  in  countries  with  summer  rains. 

At  what  degree  of  resistance  a  vine  is  immune  from  an  injury 
to  its  roots  by  the  Phylloxera  in  California,  is  a  point  which  should 
command  thorough  investigation  in  the  near  future  as  a  matter  of 
the  greatest  importance.  A  stock  with  a  somewhat  low  resistance 
but  a  good  adaptation  to  existing  soil  conditions,  is  much  safer 
than  one  with  a  high  resistance  against  the  Phylloxera,  but  without 
the  adaptation.  Our  past  experience  has  shown,  that  this  latter 
is  as  important  (if  not  more  so)  as  the  Phylloxera  question,  in  fact 
that  the  solution  of  one  is  valueless  without  the  mastering  of  the 
other.  The  Lenoir  and  the  Champini  are  the  safest  known  at  pres- 
ent for  lands  which  cannot  be  properly  irrigated  and  such  soils  as 
have  been  designated  for  them  in  this  treatise.  The  former  is  prob- 
ably the  best  for  table  grapes  and  other  heavy-bearing  Viniferas 
on  any  kind  of  land  excepting  the  very  poorest.  Anybody  desiring 
to  make  plantings  immediately  should  commence  with  these,  but 
at  the  same  time  try  some  of  the  other  hybrids  of  the  four  hardy 
species,  and  if  some  of  them  which  have  a  higher  resistance  against 
Phylloxera  are  found  to  be  equally  as  good  in  regard  to  adaptation 
to  the  existing  soil  conditions,  these  should  be  preferred  for  later 
planting.  What  relation  the  nature  of  a  soil  has  to  the  hardiness 
of  a  vine  can  be  seen  most  anywhere.  In  my  own  locality  on  a 
rich,  deep,  sandy  or  clayey  loam  the  Cornichon  is  very  hardy  and 


SPRAYING  THE  VINES 


21 


the  Tokay  and  Verdel  are  an  easy  prey  to  the  disease,  while  on  a 
gravelly  clay  of  medium  quality  the  first  named  succumbs  easily 
and  the  other  two  vines  are  very  hardy.  In  a  somewhat  rich,  stiff 
clay  on  my  own  place  the  Verdel  is  hardier  than  the  Tokay,  while 
on  a  poor  gravelly  clay  the  latter  is  the  hardiest.  If  there  is  so 
much  difference  between  varieties  of  the  same  species,  it  can  easily 
be  seen,  that  a  single  resistant,  that  will  do  better  than  any  other  on 
any  kind  of  soil  or  in  any  locality,  will  never  be  found.  It  will  al- 
ways be  necessary  to  employ  different  ones  to  get  best  results,  es- 
pecially in  mountain  districts  where  soils  vary  so  much. 

Figure  I  as  given  below  shows  the  range  of  adaptation  of 
different  species  and  of  the  two  hybrids  Lenor  and  Champini, 
ungrafted,  in  regard  to  moisture  changes  in  the  soil.  Grafted  to 
Viniferas  it  would  become  less,  excepting  Riparia,  which  probably 
has  a  less  drouth-resistant  foliage  than  the  Viniferas,  as  it  occurs 
wild  only  in  cool  places  in  the  shade  of  trees,  but  even  this  would 
become  somewhat  weakened  after  grafting  on  account  of  lack  of 
sufficient  affinity  (similar  to  Rupestris)  and  the  heavy  bearing  of 
the  Vinifera-top. 


FIG.   i. 


Dry 


Slightly 

Moist 


Moist 


Extremely 
Moist 


Wet 


— c- 


Berlandieri 
Candicans 
Californic  a 
Riparia 
Rupertris 
Champini 
Vinifera 
Lenoir 
Cordifolia 
x.Cinerea 


Of  course  the  lines  in  the  diagram  show  the  range  of  adapta- 
tion only  comparatively  and  approximately,  as  exactness  would  be 
difficult.  Not  only  the  inherent  adaptability  of  the  stocks  will  have 
to  be  considered,  but  also  the  form  of  root  system,  depth  and  nature 


22     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


of  soil,  etc.  For  instance  in  deep  wet  loams  and  clays  or  soils  with 
groundwater  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  a  Vinifera  may  do  very 
well,  but  a  Champini  sending  down  its  vertical  main  roots  into  very 
wet  soil  or  water  would  not  succeed.  A  hybrid  having  a  great 
drouth-enduring  capacity  but  shallow  roots  would  fail  in  a  deep 
coarse  gravel,  where  a  Champini  may  prove  successful.  Even  a 
Rupestris  St.  George  may  do  as  well  as  a  Vinifera  in  such  soil,  as 
it  has  the  advantage  over  the  latter  in  its  deep  vertical  roots,  al- 
though less  range  of  adaptation.  But  it  is  always  safest,  if  a  stock 
is  chosen,  which  has  adaptation  to  spare  for  a  certain  soil,  than  if 
it  is  deficient  or  doubtful.  It  can  also  be  seen  from  the  diagram 
that  an  improvement  is  possible  on  our  two  best  known  grafting 
stocks,  the  Lenoir  and  the  Champini.  By  hybridizing  a  Cinerea 
or  Cordifolia  with  a  Candicans  or  Berlandieri  and  the  progeny 
again  with  a  Vinifera  or  Californica,  a  hybrid  may  result  having 
a  greater  range  of  adaptation  than  the  best  we  have  at  present. 


FIG.  2 


Dry       .     . 


Slightly 

Moist 


Moist 


Extremely 
Moist 


Wet 


_ 

: 

— 

"—Shallow,  poor  gravelly  clays 

f  Deep,  poor,  brittle   gravelly 
*~\         clays,  mixed  with  broken 
V.       sand  rock. 

Deep,  coarse  gravels  in  val- 
leys 

f  Deep,  loose  gravelly  soils  on 
—  ^         hillsides  in  Coast  Moun- 
\_        tains 

»- 

— 

—  , 

— 

— 

Rich  sandy  loams 
Clay  loams 

»- 

—  ' 

— 

— 

— 

— 

S 

Clays 

Extremely  heavy  clays  and 
adobes 


Fig.  II  shows  the  changes  from  wet  to  dry  as  they  occur  in 
the  different  soils  of  vineyards  in  the  coast  regions  of  northern 
California,  or  may  occur,  if  land  is  not  carefully  cultivated  or  rain- 
fall is  insufficient  or  vines  have  excessive  foliage.  This  also  is  given 
only  approximately  and  comparatively,  as  there  are  a  thousand  dif- 
ferent combinations  in  the  physical  structure  of  our  varied  soils, 
according  to  depth,  admixture  of  humus,  clay  or  other  binding 
material,  broken  sandrock,  clayrock  or  granite,  gravel  or  sand,  etc., 


SOILS  ADAPTED  TO  GRAPE  CULTURE  23 

p 

which  all  have  a  greater  or  less  influence  on  their  capacity  of  hold- 
ing moisture  in  the  spring  and  of  retaining  it  through  the  summer. 
The  more  compact  a  soil  is  or  if  it  is  gravelly,  the  more  fine  earth 
or  clay  is  mixed  with  the  gravel,  the  greater  are  apt  to  be  the  mois- 
ture changes.  In  localities  where  the  rainfall  is  scant,  heavy  clays 
and  loams  may  not  be  very  wet  during  spring,  or  may  be  so  onh 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface,  while  below  this  they  are  com- 
paratively dry.  The  great  value  of  a  vine,  extending  its  main 
roots  horizontally  under  the  surface,  as  the  Lenoir  does,  is  appar- 
ent for  such  soils.  From  what  has  been  said  on  the  condition  of 
soils,  on  which  wild  species  are  found  or  on  which  cultivated  vari- 
eties have  proved  successful,  it  can  be  deduced  that  adaptation  is 
principally  governed  by  the  moisture  changes  occurring  in  the  soil 
3nd  conditioned  by  the  physical  structure  of  the  ia\ter,  by  climate 
and  cultivation.  For  this  reason,  adaptation,  as  taught  by  French 
experts,  has  not  realized  for  California,  as  moisture  changes  in 
soils  of  the  same  physical  structure  are  much  greater  with  us  than 
they  are  in  France. 

As  the  planting  of  resistant  direct  bearers  which  undoubtedly 
wculd  avoid  the  trouble  altogether,  has  been  recommended  i:»y 
some,  I  shall  say,  that  there  is  no  vine  of  American  origin  at  pres- 
ent, which  approaches  in  the  least  degree  the  peeiless  qualities  of 
the  Viniferas.  Even  with  twice  the  expense  of  growing  these,  which 
indeed  is  not  necessary,  they  will  pay" much  better  than  any  bear- 
ing resistant.  For  this  reason  no  effort  should  be  spared  to  re- 
tain them  in  localities  where  the  disease  has  occurred  w;th  great- 
est severilv,  but  which  was  caused  mainly  through  ;gnorancc  of  its 
true  character. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Soils,  Adapted  to  Grape  Culture  and  Preparatory  Work  for 

Planting. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  soils  in  California  and  most  any  of 
them,  excepting  rich  bottom  lands  near  the  coast  or  other  parts  of 
too  moist  and  cold  atmospheric  conditions,  or  where  groundwater 
is  too  near  the  surface,  can  Be  planted  to  the  grape  vine  provided 
the  peculiar  habits  of  the  different  varieties  and  grafting-s treks 
are  understood  and  the  proper  ones  chosen.  In  this  respect  a  good 
many  mistakes  have  been  made  in  the  past  and  some  losses  of 
money  incurred.  In  particular  it  may  be  said  that  brittle  gravelh 
clays  of  a  reddish  or  brownish  color  mixed  with  broken  sandrock 
and  situated  on  warm  sloping  hillsides,  are  the  very  best,  as  they 
produce  the  highest  quality  of  wine  and  table  grapes,  which  is  the 
desideratum  desired. 

In  regions  near  the  coast  shallow  soils,  on  which  the  grapes 
ripen  better  and  whose  impoverishment  and  drying  out  can  be  pre- 
vented by  plowing  under  plenty  of  green  manure,  which  is  gener- 
ally abundant,  are  better  than  deep,  rich  ones.  Lands  being  covered 
with  small  brush  as  manzanitas,  dwarf-oaks  and  other  shrubs, 
when  in  their  wild  state,  is  in  such  localities  indicative  of  their 
adaptation  to  grape  culture.  Where  large  trees  are  growing,  the 


24     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

.soil  is  gen*  rally  too  rich  and  deep  to  be  available  for  this  pur- 
pose, at  least  the  services  of  an  expert  would  be  required  to  avoid 
mistakes  in  the  choice  of  varieties.  In  the  more  interior  locations 
a  deeper  soil  is  necessary,  to  maintain  the  vine  properly  and  pro- 
duce a  good  quality  of  fruit.  Clays  generally  produce  a  higher 
sugar  and  .firmer  grapes  than  rich  sandy  loams. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  soil  for  vine  planting,  California 
methods  have  in  the  past  been  so  slack  that  great  losses  of  money 
or,  as  in  some  cases,  even  bankruptcy  have  been  the  consequence, 
especially  where  vineyards  were  planted  on  steep  hillsides  of  poor 
gravelly  soil.  I  shall  not  repeat  anything  here,  that  has  been  said 
on  tr.is  subject  in  the  chapter  on  preventive  methods  of  the  Califor- 
nia vine  disease,  but  shall  only  make  a  few  completing  remarks 
with  reference  to  mountain  regions.  Where  vineyards  have  been 
planted  on  hillsides,  the  neglect  of  properly  securing  the  natural 
richness  of  the  surface  of  virgin  soils,  in  preventing  its  washing  by 
winter  rains  or  loss  of  organic  matter  through  combustion  by  the 
summer's  heat,  will  make  itself  felt  with  greatest  severity,  when 
these  vineyards  will  have  to  be  replanted  on  account  of  the  de- 
structive work  of  the  Phylloxera.  The  only  way  such  lands  could 
have  been  remunerative  would  have  been  to  plow  or  dig  trenches 
about  3  feet  deep  and  2  wide  horizontally  along  the  slops  and  filling 
them  up  with  humus  earth  from  above.  Vines  planted  in  such 
trenches  would  have  produced  from  7  to  10  tons  par  acre,  where 
they  yield  oi'.'y  2  or  3  tons  by  the  go-as-you-please  method. 

The  grape  vine  is  the  most  grateful  cultivated  plant  we  have. 
Treat  it  well  and  intelligently  and  it  will  pay  you  back  abundantly. 
It  is  better  to  have  5  acres  producing  35  tons  of  grapes,  than  50 
acres  producing  only  100  tons,  especially  when  grapes  are  cheap. 
The  five-acre  vineyard  would  have  paid  enough  profits  to  set  out 
an  acre  or  two  more  every  year,  as  described  above,  while  the  fifty- 
acre  one  depleted  your  pocket  book  in  the  first  place  and  kept  you 
poor  afterwards,  all  the  income  from  it  being  required  to  pay 
Asiatic  labor,  as  has  been  the  case  in  a  good  many  instances. 

In  reconstituting  vineyards  destroyed  by  the  Phylloxera  or 
from  any  other  cause,  on  resistant  stocks  in  places  where  the  land 
has  been  under  cultivation  for  10,  15  or  more  years,  the  work  be- 
comes much  more  difficult.  It  is  best  to  work  over  all  lands  that 
will  wash  or  slide  from  winter  rains  by  trenching  as  described,  in- 
stead of  turning  the  whole  of  the  ground  over  20  inches  or  two  feet 
The  better  portions  should  be  commenced  with  and  the  poorer  and 
steeper  ones  left  for  four  or  five  years,  to  cover  themselves  with 
natural  vegetation,  if  this  will  grow;  if  not,  some  cultivated  plants 
which  are  valuable  for  green  manuring,  should  be  sowed  and  as- 
sisted by  cultivation.  If  leguminous  plants  will  not  succeed,  any- 
thing  that  will  grow  is  better  than  nothing. 

As  has  been  stated,  when  doing  such  work,  if  the  surface  soil 
is  devoid  of  humus,  do  not  forget  to  put  plenty  of  organic  matter 
in  the  form  of  brush,  dead  prunings  and  vines,  straw,  stable  and 
green  manure  into  the  trenches.  The  first  named  should  be  put 
in  the  bottom  and  the  last  named  about  18  inches  below  the  sur- 


CHOICE  OF  VARIETIES  OF  GRAPES  25 


face ;  it  is  plain  that  fine  earth  should  be  well  filled  in  around  such 
material  and  also  that  this  should  not  be  excessive.  There  is  no 
danger  of  souring  the  ground  easily  in  a  California  vineyard,  as  sim- 
ilar work  is  done  in  European  countries,  where  decay  on  account  of 
summer  rains  goes  on  much  quicker.  A  grapevine  is  not  easily 
affected  by  decaying  organic  substances  in  the  soil,  at  least  not  the 
right  kind  of  a  grafting  stock.  Humus  is  most  important  as  no  soil 
is  productive  without  it,  however  rich  in  mineral  ingredients  it  may 
be.  It  is  almost  an  impossibility  in  California  to  cause  any  material 
benefit  to  deep-rooting  perennial  plants,  by  simply  plowing  under 
organic  manures,  not  considering  the  great  loss  through  combus- 
tion by  the  sun's  heat.  The  benefit  derived  is  generally  of  a  physi- 
cal nature  only,  in  that  compact  soils  are  made  more  mellow  and 
coarse  gravelly  ones  denser  and  closer,  and  so  both  kinds  more 
retentive  in  holding  moisture.  Of  course  this  is  very  important. 

It  might  be  claimed  that  such  work  does  not  pay  in  California 
on  account  of  high  wages  paid  for  labor.  But  considering  that  we 
need  not  plant  our  vines  three  or  four  feet  apart  in  order  to  get  them 
to  ripen  their  fruit  uniformly,  it  will  not  cost  as  much  as  work  con- 
ducted on  such  a  plan  in  European  countries.  A  little  more  re- 
course to  old  world  methods,  seasoned  down  with  a  touch  of  Amer- 
ican ingenuity  in  the  use  of  proper  implements,  will  make  grape- 
culture  the  most  remunerative  pursuit  in  the  State. 

The  next  best  way  to  the  above-described  method  would  be  to 
dig  deep  and  wide  holes  and  then  put  a  good  amount  of  stable  man- 
ure, coarse  or  rotted,  in  their  bottoms.  This  will  enable  the  young 
vine  to  get  a  quick  start  and  get  its  roots  down  deep,  so  it  does 
not  suffer  from  want  of  moisture  and  nourishment. 

When  it  becomes  necessary  later,  commercial  mineral  manures 
can  be  applied  by  plowing  under.  As  a  rule  such  manures  are 
necessary  in  California  only  when  the  vines  become  old,  provided 
the  land  is  worked  over  before  planting,  as  described,  and  plowed 
deeply  afterwards,  as  according  to  Prof.  Hilgard's  investigations, 
our  soils  are  generally  very  rich  in  such  ingredients  to  a  great 
depth,  on  account  of  absence  of  summer  rains  and  so  of  leaching 
of  their  valuable  portions. 

Stable  manures  intended  for  vineyard  use  should  be  kept  dry 
and  piled  up  loosely  under  a  shed,  to  prevent  the  formation  and 
escape  of  carbonate  of  ammonia.  Mixing  with  land  plaster  or 
humus  earth,  or  sprinkling  with  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  will  assist 
in  this.  It  should  not  be  left  undisturbed  very  long  but  worked 
over  occasionally.  If  it  dry-burns,  which  means  the  formation  of 
nitric  acid,  which  is  very  volatile,  the  loss  is  still  greater.  In  the 
winter  it  is  safest  to  haul  it  right  on  to  the  land,  wliere  it  is  intended 
to  go. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Choice  of  Varieties  of  Grapes. 

This  has  been  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  confronting 
the  vine-grower  in  the  past,  and  has  led  to  numerous  mistakes  and 


26     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

losses  of  money.     The  difficulty  was   greatly  augmented   by  the 
passing  under  wrong  and  several  names  of  some  of  our  best  vari- 
eties, which  would  have  come  undoubtedly  sooner  to  greater  prom- 
inence, if  this  had  not  been  the  case.     Also  giving  wines  of  poor- 
grade  varieties  fine-sounding     names,     in  order  to  enhance  their 
salableness,  as  is  sometimes  imagined,  is  a  reprehensible  practice, 
which  can  only  do  harm.     Some  30  or  40  years  ago,  when  grape- 
culture  took  the  form  of  a  more  general  occupation,  a  great  mis- 
take was  made  in  presuming  that  the  most  famous  wine-grape  vari- 
eties of  Europe  would  also  make  the  best  wines  in  most  any  local- 
ity of   California.     Although   our   climatic   conditions   are   not   so 
varied  as  those  of  European  countries  where  grape-culture  is  prac- 
ticed, the  fact  has  made  itself  felt,  that  it  requires  different  varieties 
for  the  different  localities  to  produce  best  quality  and  largest  quan- 
tity, not  considering  our  manifold  soil  conditions.    Our  past  experi- 
ence in  this  line  will  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  us,  as  the  rehab- 
ilitation of  our  vineyards  on  resistant  stocks  is  somewhat  more 
expensive,  and  mistakes  made  now  will  be  felt  with  much  greater 
severity  than  in  former  times.     Without  fear  of  contradiction,   I 
shall  say  that  the  highest  quality,  combined  with  from  fair  to  good 
quantity  should  be  the  most  desired  aim  in  viticultural  pursuits. 
To  gain  this  object  is  not  a  difficult  task  at  present,  as  we  have 
it  in  our  hand  with  the  proper  selection  of  resistant  grafting  stocks, 
to  make  choice  varieties  like  the  Petite  Sirah,  Beclan,  Cabernet, 
Sauvignon  blanc  and  Red  Veltliner  bear  much  heavier  crops  than 
they  do  on  their  own  roots. 

As  the  planting  of  white-wine  varieties  has  been  neglected  in 
late  years  and  less  localities  are  adapted  to  the  production  of  first- 
class  white  than  of  red  wines,  all  lands  well  suited  to  them,  should 
be  used  for  this  purpose.  All  poor  gravelly  or  sandy  soils  of  the 
coast  mountain  regions  of  northern  California,  excepting  those  in 
very  close  proximity  of  the  coast  or  where  for  other  reasons  too 
moist  atmospheric  conditions  prevail,  where  the  more-rot-resistant 
red  varieties  like  Beclan,  Cabernet,  Tannat  and  Petite  Sirah  are 
preferable,  are  best  for  white  grapes,  especially  the  early  kinds 
as  Red  Veltliner,  Sauvignon  blanc,  Semillon,  Johannisberg  and 
Franken  Reisling.  In  more  interior  points  where  the  acid  of  most 
of  these  would  be  too  low  for  a  sound  fermentation,  other  kinds 
are  probably  better.  In  such  places  even  richer  soils  may  be  used 
for  the  planting  of  white  varieties.  All  rich  lands,  especially  in  the 
coast  region,  are  best  for  the  growing  of  red  grapes.  Some  excep- 
tions will  be  found  to  these  rules  and  past  experience  where  such 
is  at  hand,  is  the  best  guide  in  this  respect. 

Dry  wine  varieties  with  a  high  acid  in  their  fruit  like  Alicante 
Bouschet,  Gros  Mansene  and  all  Italian  varieties,  are  best 
adapted  to  warm  interior  points,  as  also  the  Valdepe- 
nas,  which  in  spite  of  a  comparatively  low  acid  has  the  ex- 
ceptional quality  of  a  perfect  fermentation,  while  varieties  with 
medium  to  low  acid  like  the  Beclan,  Cabernet,  Tannat  and  Petite 
Sirah  are  better  for  the  cooler  coast  regions.  Such  latter  vari- 


CHOICE  OF  VARIETIES  OF  GRAPHS  27 


eties  with  proper  blends  may  be  turned  into  good  wines  even  in 
the  warmer  localities,  as  also  varieties  with  a  high  acid  may  be  val- 
uable in  small  quantities  for  blending  purposes  in  the  cooler  re- 
gions. 

High  tartaric  acid  contents  of  a  grape  in  the  fermenting  tank 
especially  during  hot  weather,  are  conducive  of  a  sound  ferment- 
ation in  checking  the  development  of  secondary,  injurious  fer- 
ments, but  give  a  wine  a  harsh,  rough  taste  if  too  much  is  present. 
First-class  white  wine  should  contain  about  .06  per  cent  and  red 
wines  about  .05  per  cent  of  tartaric  acid,  or  rather,  bitartrate  of 
potash  (cream  of  tartar)  as  which  it  occurs  in  wines.  Free  tartaric 
acid  is  generally  not  present,  except  where  unripe  grapes  went  into 
the  fermenting  tank ;  wines  made  thus  have  a  very  harsh  flavor.  A 
wine  fermenting  its  sugar  contents  out  is  not  proof  that  the  fer- 
mentation has  been  conducted  properly.  Low-acid  grapes  like 
Pinot,  Meunier,  Franken  Riesling  and  Grenache,  although  they  may 
apparently  go  through  fermentation  all  right,  favor  the  development 
of  injurious  bacteria,  as  acetic,  lactic  and  tartaric,  which  cause,  com- 
mencing generally  during  the  after-fermentation,  a  steady  increase 
of  the  general  acid  contents  of  the  wine  and  finally  spoil  it.  If  the 
fermentation  took  place  during  cold  weather  in  a  well-protected  cel- 
lar of  an  even  temperature,  such  a  condition  need  not  be  feared  so 
much  as  if  it  occurred  during  hot  weather. 

For  this  reason  all  best  dry  wines  are  made  in  cool  countries 
of  grapes  with  a  comparatively  low  or  medium  acid,  which  leaves 
the  wine  with  a  smoother,  pleasanter  taste.  In  hot  countries  like 
Italy,  grapes  must  contain  a  high  acid,  besides  high  contents  of 
sugar,  body  and  tannin,  in  order  to  give  the  wine  a  sound  fermenta- 
tion and  good  keeping  qualities.  Such  obstacles  have  been  over- 
come at  the  present  day,  at  least  to  some  extent,  with  modern  meth- 
ods of  pasteurization  and  filtration.  Thin  wines  are  also  very  much 
subject  to'  injury  from  secondary  ferments ;  such  wines  should  be 
pasteurized. 

Red  wines  intended  for  export  or  eastern  shipments  should  con- 
tain a  higher  percentage  of  tannin  than  would  be  palatable  for  im- 
mediate or  home  consumption.  The  superfluous  tannin  will  pre- 
cipitate through  the  shaking  of  the  wine  in  the  casks,  while  in  tran- 
sit, and  at  the  same  time  keep  it  in  good  condition  and  improve  it. 
While  the  wine  remains  in  the  cellar  its  development  is  accelerated 
by  a  moderate  amount  of  tannin  and  retarded  by  an  excess  of  it. 
The  best  tannin  and  color  grape  for  California  is  the  Tannat,  with 
the  Alicante  Bouschet  for  second  place.  Other  varieties  like  Caber- 
net, Petite  Sirah,  St.  Macaine,  Mondeuse  and  Valdepenas  contain 
good  contents  of  tannin,  in  most  localities  enough  for  their  own 
safety. 

The  above  remarks  are  not  made  to  give  any  information  con- 
cerning winemaking,  but  to  assist  in  the  selection  of  proper  varieties 
for  a  particular  locality  and  in  regard  to  the  purpose  for  which 
grapes  are  wanted. 


28     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


White- Wine  Varieties  for  the  Coast  Region  of  Northern  California. 

Red  Veltliner — Description :  Vine  very  vigorous,  with  strong 
spreading  canes.  Leaves  large,  deeply  five-lobed,  dark  green  and 
rough  above,  lower  side  white  woolly  during  forepart  of  summer. 
Bunch  medium,  somewhat  loose,  pyramidal,  with  from  small  to 
medium-sized  pink-colored  berries. 

This  variety  has  originally  come  from  Austria,  where  it  is  es- 
teemed, according  to  Babo  and  Mach,  on  account  of  the  superiority 
of  its  wine  and  good  bearing  qualities.  From  there  it  has  been 
brought  into  Germany,  whe,re  it  is  grown  to  a  small  extent  and 
known  among  common  vineyardists  as  the  large  Traminer,  because 
its  grapes  have  the  same  pink  color  as  those  of  the  Traminer.  For 
this  reason  it  occurs  in  California  also  under  both  names ;  but  the 
same  color  of  the  grapes  of  two  varieties  is  no  mark  of  relationship, 
nor  is  a  different  color  a  good  mark  of  non-relationship.  If  the  above 
description  is  compared  with  that  of  the  Traminer  by  Prof.  Hilgard 
in  his  report  on  winegrapes,  the  great  difference  between  the  two 
vines  can  easily  be  seen.  The  Traminer  has  no  value  for  California, 
as  it  is  a  shy  bearer  and  produces  a  wine  of  poor  keeping  qualities. 
Some  Veltliner  wine  made  in  this  locality  (Santa  Cruz  Mountains) 
from  grapes  grown  on  a  poor  gravelly  soil  by  inexperienced  wine- 
makers  and  sold  to  an  eastern  dealer,  has  brought  30  and  40c  a  gal-. 
Ion,  when  other  wines  did  not  bring  one-half  of  that  amount.  A 
blend  of  two-fifths  Veltliner,  two-fifths  Franken  Riesling  and  one- 
fifth  Johannisberg  Riesling  produces  a  wine  of  first-class  quality. 
This  grape  has  a  great  value  for  the  coast  region,  as  it  resists  rot 
better  than  any  other  early  white-wine  grape  with  long  horizontal 
canes,  and  bears  heavily  on  all  gravelly  soils.  In  more  interior  places 
it  probably  needs  an  addition  of  some  other  more  acid  variety,  like 
the  Sauvignon  blanc,  in  order  to  produce  a  wine  of  good  keeping 
qualities. 

Sauvignon  blanc.  This  is  a  somewhat  shy  bearer  on  its  own 
roots,  but  does  better  on  resistants.  It  is  confounded  in  this  locality 
a.  good  deal  with  the  Muscadelle  du  Bordelais,  which  it  resembles 
very  much  in  the  appearance  of  the  vine  as  well  as  the  fruit.  But 
while  the  Muscadelle  generally  drops  its  fruit  by  coulure  two  sea- 
sons out  of  three,  the  Sauvignon  blanc  very  seldom  does,  where  it 
stands  on  a  soil  of  medium  or  good  quality.  .  This  grape  probably 
has  a  greater  general  adaptation  than  any  other  Vinifera  variety, 
as  it  holds  its  acid  well  even  in  hot  interior  valleys.  Its  wine  in 
itself  is  somewhat  rough,  but  is  very  valuable  as  a  blend  with  wines 
of  less  quality  and  lower  acid  and  sugar.  The  vine  is  about  as 
nearly  frost-proof  as  any  variety  can  be,  as  it  starts  its  growth  very 
late  in  the  spring.  It  requires  long  horizontal  canes  to  bear  well. 

Semillon.  This  has  been  the  favorite  white-wine  variety  in 
California  and  is  therefore  so  well  known,  that  it  is  not  necessary 
to  mention  any  of  its  characteristics.  It  is  extremely  liable  to  get 
damaged  by  late  spring  frosts,  as  it  starts  its  growth  very  early.  Its 
behavior  on  resistants,  at  least  Riparia  and  Rupestris,  is  far  from 


RED    WINE   GRAPES  29 

f 

being  satisfactory,  but  it  may  do  better  on  some  hardy  Vinifera- 
American  hybrid. 

Riesling  Johannisberg.  This  is  rather  a  shy  bearer,  and  easily 
fiosted  in  the  spring.  On  a  poor  gravelly  soil  in  the  Santa  Cruz 
mountains  it  bears  fairly  well  and  makes  a  wine  of  fine  quality. 
This  as  well  as  any  other  Vinifera  variety  will  undoubtedly  do  much 
better  on  some  hardy  resistant  than  on  Riparia  or  Rupestris  or  even 
its  own  roots. 

Sylvaner  or  Franken  Riesling.  This  is  an  immense  bearer  in 
this  locality,  if  pruned  with  long  horizontal  canes,  but  should  be 
planted  only  on  dry  gravelly  soils,  as  its  grapes  are  much  subject 
to  rot.  Its  wine  by  itself  is  not  best  quality,  but  a  good  wine  can 
be  made  of  it,  by  blending  in  the  fermenting  tank  with  the  Johannis- 
berg Riseling  or  Sauvignon  blanc  and  in  some  places  even  with  the 
Red  Veltliner.  It  starts  growth  late  in  the  spring  and  is  seldom 
hurt  by  frost. 

Pinot  Chardonay,  from  which  the  celebrated  Chablis  wines  are 
made  in  France.  There  are  only  a  few  vines  of  this  variety  planted 
here,  but  which  give  promise  of  its  value  as  a  good  bearer. 

Sauvignon  vert.  This  is  similar  to  the  Franken  Riseling,  an 
immense  bearer,  and  its  fruitfulness  is  not  impaired  by  frost,  as  it 
bears  on  canes  from  adventitious  shoots,  if  its  first  growth  is  cut 
down.  It  should  also  be  planted  on  dry  gravelly  soils  only,  as  on 
rich  ground  it  has  not  sufficient  sugar  and  makes  then  a  thin  in- 
sipid wine.  For  some  more  interior  places,  like  Napa  county,  a 
greater  value  is  claimed  for  it.  It  does  well  on  resistants. 

Green  Hungarian.  On  dry  gravelly  soils  with  warm  exposure 
this  makes  a  good,  light,  neutral  wine,  but  does  not  ripen  early 
enough  to  be  adapted  to  many  coast  locations.  Different  from  the 
other  varieties  mentioned,  it  can  be  stool-pruned  and  somewhat 
short.  It  bears  heavily. 

Red  Wine  Grapes. 

Petite  Sirah.  This  and  the  Serine  resemble  one  another  some- 
what, but  have  undoubtedly  originated  from  two  different  seed- 
lings, as  the  difference  between  the  two  varieties  is  too  great  to  be 
explainable  any  other  way.  The  leaf  of  the  Petite  Sirah  is  somewhat 
more  deeply  lobed  and  of  a  deeper  green  color  than  that  of  the 
Serine.  The  first-named  starts  its  growth  later  in  the  spring  and  its 
leaves  hang  on  later  in  the  fall.  It  has  also  a  larger  bunch  and  sets 
fruit  much  more  profusely. 

As  the  Petite  Sirah  occurs  here,  there  is  another  variety  mixed 
with  it,  which  has  a  small,  generally  loose  bunch  and  large  leaves, 
covered  with  a  heavy,  cottony  down  on  the  lower  surface.  Thib 
variety  is  worthless.  The  Petite  Sirah  is  a  most  valuable  grape,  as 
it  bears  heavily  and  produces  one  of  the  best  red  wines  in  the  state. 
It  does  exceedingly  well  on  all  kinds  of  resistants.  I  have  been 
told  lately  that  it  is  the  same  grape,  that  was  known  in  former  years 
as  Pfeffer's  Cabernet. 


30     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

Beclan.  This  is  probably  the  best  grape  for  rich  land,  whether 
sandy  or  clayey,  in  the  coast  region.  It  grows,  bears  and  ripens  its 
fruit  early,  similarly  to  the  foregoing.  It  also  does  well  on  resist- 
ants  and  makes  a  fine  wine,  which  has  great  value  as  a  blend  with 
Cabernet. 

Cabernet  Sauvignon.  This  is  a  shy  bearer  on  its  own  roots, 
but  does  better  on  resistants.  It  is  the  most  rot-resistant  grape  we 
have  and  is  therefore  valuable  in  places  with  moist  atmospheric 
conditions.  It  requires  long  horizontal  canes  to  bear  well. 

Tannat.  This  is  also  very  resistant  against  rot  and  an  im- 
mense bearer.  Its  value  as  a  tannin  and  color  grape  has  been 
stated.  There  are  two  varieties  of  it  as  it  occurs  here,  which  are 
called  in  France  T.  male  and  T.  femelle.  The  leaf  of  one  is  not  quite 
so  deeply  lobed  as  that  of  the  other  and  its  bunch  not  quite  as  large, 
but  closer;  it  is  the  better  bearer  of  the  two,  but  also  more  subject 
to  the  California  vine  disease.  It  does  poorly  on  Rupestris  St. 
George  (the  same  as  all  other  varieties  on  this  stock)  but  bears  im- 
mensely on  Riparia. 

Alicante  Bouschet.  This  occurs  a  good  deal  under  the  name  of 
Petit  Bouschet,  which  is  giving  a  bad  name  to  a  good  grape,  as  the 
latter  is  a  much  inferior  variety.  The  former  can  be  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  latter  by  its  leaves,  which  are  shiny  on  the  up- 
per side,  with  the  edges  turned  back.  The  Petit  Bouschet  has 
flat  and  more  downy  leaves.  The  Alicante  Bouschet  is  an  immense 
bearer,  but  it  is  reported  from  France  as  not  doing  well  on  resist- 
ants, but  will  probably  behave  more  satisfactorily  on  some  hardy 
Vinifera-American  hybrid. 

Carignan.  This  is  so  well  known,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
mention  its  good  qualities.  It  ripens  later  than  the  other  red  vari- 
eties mentioned  and  does  best  on  clays.  It  behaves  well  on  resist- 
ants. 

Mondeuse.  This  makes  a  good  wine  and  bears  well  in  some 
places,  but  in  others  its  behavior  is  not  so  good  in  either  respect 
It  does  not  seem  to  do  well  on  pure  American  stocks.  The  Mon- 
deuse and  the  Carignan  are  the  two  best  of  the  ordinary  varieties. 

Valdepenas.  This  is  best  adapted  to  warm  interior  localities. 
It  has  the  reputation  of  fermenting  high  sugar  contents  out  with- 
out any  trouble  and  makes  a  very  superior  wine. 

Table  Grapes. 

Flame  Tokay.  This  is  the  most  prominent  table  variety,  as  it 
bears  heavily  and  its  fruit  brings  the  highest  price  in  the  markets, 
provided  it  is  of  good  quality.  To  produce  such  is  sometimes  diffi- 
cult, as  not  all  soils  and  locations  will  do  this.  It  requires  for  its 
perfect  development  a  somewhat  dry  atmosphere;  where  this  is 
heavy  and  moist  from  ocean  winds,  it  is  not  of  a  marketable  char- 
acter. In  regard  to  soil  it  is  best  on  a  poor  gravelly  clay  of  a  red- 
dish or  brown  color ;  if  the  soil  is  rich,  it  should  not  be  deep. 

If  the  vine  is  planted  on  rich  ground,  where  it  does  not  ripen 
its  fruit  well,  it  should  be  trained  to  a  high,  large,  spreading  head 


PRUNING,  GRAFTING  AND  BUDDING  31 

0 

and  pruned  with  a  great  number  of  canes  of  two  and  three  buds. 
Its  young  growing  shoots  will  be  shorter  and  more  upright  then, 
its  bunches  smaller  and  looser  and  in  consequence  its  berries  more 
evenly  ripened  and  better  colored.  On  very  poor  soils  it  should  be 
trained  to  a  lower  and  closer  head  with  fewer  fruit  canes. 

Verdel.  This  produces  its  best  product  on  a  gravelly  clay  of 
medium  quality.  On  such  a  soil  its  fruit  keeps  longer  and  better 
than  that  of  any  other  variety.  In  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains  it  is 
generally  one  of  the  best  paying  varieties  grown,  as  it  bears  im- 
mense and  regular  crops.  Where  the  ground  is  too  rich  for  a  per- 
fect product,  the  quality  and  sugar  contents  of  this  can  be  im- 
proved by  a  similar  mode  of  pruning  as  that  recommended  for  the 
Tokay,  but  not  quite  so  many  canes  need  be  left.  It  should  only  be 
planted  in  places  well  protected  from  the  north  winds,  as  its  young 
canes  in  the  spring  break  off  very  easily  and  its  fruit  is  also  dam- 
aged quite  often  if  vines  are  standing  in  an  unprotected  place. 

Cornichon.  This  is  the  best  table  grape  variety  for  rich 
ground,  especially  a  sandy  loam.  It  is  trained  and  pruned  in  all 
kinds  of  manners,  from  a  somewhat  low  and  close  head  with  few 
half-long  canes  for  poor  ground  to  a  high  spreading  head  with  nu- 
merous short  canes  of  three  buds  for  very  rich  ground.  For  soils  of 
medium  quality  the  best  way  of  pruning  is  intermediate  between 
the  two  extremes  described.  It  is  a  favorite  grape  for  attack  from 
small  birds,  which  bore  holes  into  the  ends  of  the  berries  and 
sometimes  cause  ruin  to  a  whole  field.  The  shotgun  remedy  is  the 
best  means  of  protection,  as  the  birds  generally  are  intelligent 
enough  to  learn  that  it  is  best  to  stay  away. 

Emperor.  This  is  a  very  fine,  although  thick-skinned  grape, 
of  good  marketable  and  keeping  qualities.  It  requires  also  a  soil  of 
good  or  medium  quality  with  warm  exposure,  and  is  pruned  simi- 
lar to  the  foregoing.  No  first-class  table  grapes  can  be  grown  by  any 
other  system  than  head  pruning.  Excessive  vigor  of  a  vine  can  bt, 
overcome  with  a  high  spreading  head  and  more  fruit  spurs,  as  welt 
as  with  pruning  by  the  Guyot  system  or  extension  to  one  side. 

Muscat  of  Alexandria.  This  is  coming  into  disfavor  somewhat 
in  the  coast  region  on  account  of  its  susceptibility  to  the  California 
vine  disease  and  the  easy  rotting  of  its  fruit,  if  caught  by  the  early 
fall  rains.  It  should  be  planted  only  on  such  soils  where  it  wifl 
ripen  its  fruit  early.  Its  liableness  to  coulure  can  be  corrected  by 
pruning  to  three  buds,  canes  extending  upwards  at  an  angle  of 
about  30  or  40  degrees,  with  a  close  head  and  few  fruit  canes,  if  on 
poor  ground  and  by  careful  suckering  several  times  before  the 
bloom.  The  Muscat  is  a  very  sensitive  vine;  too  much  or  too  little 
vigor,  too  much  moisture  in  the  ground  or  too  little,  as  also  a  strong 
north  wind  may  cause  coulure. 

CHAPTER  V. 
Pruning,  Grafting  and  Budding. 

1.     Pruning.     There  are  numerous  systems  of  pruning  practiced 


32     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

wherever  the  grape  vine  is  grown.  In  general  it  may  be  said,  that 
the  pruning  must  conform  to  the  variety  of  grape,  to  the  vigor  and 
size  of  the  vine,  to  climatic  and  atmospheric  conditions  of  the  lo- 
cality and  to  the  demands  of  the  market  for  the  fruit.  There  are 
some  minor  considerations,  but  I  believe  these  are  the  principal 
ones. 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  crop  is  very  much  influenced 
by  the  nature  of  the  soil.  On  account  of  this  a  vine  may  have  too 
much  or  too  little  vigor,  to  bear  properly.  To  maintain  the  proper 
equilibrium  between  crop  and  woodgrowth,  should  be  one  of  the 
objects  of  pruning.  The  vigor  of  a  vine  can  be  lessened  with  higher 
training,  more  spreading  head  and  more  numerous  or  longer  fruit 
canes.  It  can  be  increased  by  reversed  methods  from  the  above. 
It  is  always  best,  especially  on  virgin  soil,  to  start  with  a  lower  head 
than  appears  necessary  at  the  time  for  the  production  of  greatest 
quantity  and  best  quality.  A  vine  can  be  much  more  easily  raised 
up  higher  with  short  upright  spurs,  than  lowered  if  it  has  been 
raised  up  too  high  in  the  first  place.  In  general,  not  enough  differ 
ence  is  made  in  the  winter  pruning  of  large  vines  and  small  ones,  as 
also  in  their  training  to  a  higher  or  lower  head  according  to  the 
richness  of  the  ground.  Training  a  vine  to  a  high  and  spreading 
head  on  a  poor  soil,  takes  all  its  resources  to  nourish  this,  without  it 
being  able  to  bear.  On  the  other  hand,  where  a  vine  has  been 
trained  to  a  low  head  on  rich  ground,  the  woodgrowth  is  so  im- 
mense, that  it  robs  the  sap,  which  should  properly  go  into,  fruit. 
This  is  more  pronounced  with  some  varieties  than  with  others.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  manner,  heads  of  vines  are  spread,  more 
or  less.  It  is  much  better  for  the  health  and  longevity  of  a  vine, 
if  it  has  a  little  too  much  vigor  and  less  fruit,  than  the  reverse. 

Excessive  moisture  as  well  as  extreme  dryness  during  the 
time  of  development  and  ripening  of  the  fruit  may  postpone  its 
maturing  or  cause  inferiority  of  the  same.  The  first  generally  does 
not  occur  in  California,  except  during  the  forepart  of  the  season, 
when  it  does  its  harm  in  causing  unnecessary  woodgrowth,  injuri- 
ous to  the  proper  development  of  the  fruit  and  the  healthfulness 
of  the  vine.  For  this  reason,  vines  on  poor  gravelly  hillsides  in 
mountain  districts,  where  they  do  not  grow  excessively  on  account 
of  the  poorness  of  the  soil  and  in  consequence  later  on  do  not  suf- 
fer for  want  of  moisture,  produce  the  firmest,  sweetest  and  a  good 
many  times  the  largest  berries.  Where  vines  are  growing  on  rich 
ground,  heavily  charged  with  moisture  during  spring,  their  am- 
bition should  be  curbed  by  vigorous  summer  pruning  as  described 
in  Chapter  II. 

Too  much  old  wood  may  prevent  a  vine  from  doing  its  best. 
The  arms  of  a  vine  should  be  renewed  occasionally.  The  smaller 
ones  may  be  cut  near  the  main  body,  but  the  large  ones  should 
not  be  cut  nearer  than  six  inches  from  the  trunk  and  should  al- 
ways have  one  or  two  canes  of  young  growth  at  their  extremity. 
Large  cut  surfaces  should  be  painted  over. 

Excessive  crops  may  retard  the  maturing  and  the  formation 
of  the  necessary  sugar  contents  of  the  fruit.  Large  trees  standing 


PRUNING,  GRAFTING  AND  BUDDING  33 

near  vines,  robbing  the  ground  of  moisture,  whin  the  latter  are  in 
great  need  of  it,  also  prevents  proper  development  of  the  sugar- 
contents  of  the  fruit.  The  sugar  is  highest,  if  vines  on  rich  ground 
are  trained  to  a  high  spreading  head  and  pruned  with  numerous 
short  fruit  spurs  and  on  poor  ground  to  a  low  and  close  head  with 
few  canes.  On  intermediate  soils  the  pruning  and  training  should 
be  between  the  two  extremes. 

Head  or  stool  pruning  is  best  adapted  to  California  condi- 
tions, as  the  ground  can  be  more  carefully  worked  and  its  moisture 
contents  better  regulated.  Varieties  like  Petite  Sirah,  Alicante 
Bouschet,  Beclan  and  others  will  bear  just  as  well  and  more  reg- 
ularly by  head-training  and  pruning  to  4  or  5  buds,  or  even  less  in 
some  places,  than  by  leaving  long  horizontal  canes.  It  is  best  to 
put  varieties  like  Riesling,  Cabernet,  Sauvignon  blanc,  Semillan, 
etc.,  which  do  not  bear  except  with  very  long  canes,  horizontally 
placed,  on  gravelly,  loose  soils,  which  are  not  so  subject  to  drying 
out  and  can  be  more  easily  worked;  or  they  may  be  put  on  steep 
hillsides,  which  can  be  conveniently  worked  only  in  one  direction. 
If  the  soil  is  very  poor,  it  is  best  to  train  any  of  the  varieties  men- 
tioned to  a  very  low  head,  leave  only  one  long  cane  and  bend  it 
around  in  a  bow,  the  tip  end  almost  touching  the  ground,  or  thib 
can  be  run  into  the  ground  5  or  6  inches  and  the  bow  above  tied  to  a 
picket.  This  also  gives  the  vine  more  stability  against  strong 
winds. 

2.  Grafting.  According  to  the  size  of  the  stocks  there  are 
two  principal  methods  of  grafting,  the  common  cleft  graft  and  the 
English  cleft  or  tongue  graft.  Instead  of  the  former,  if  stocks  are 
of  sufficient  size,  the  saw-in  method,  as  I  generally  call  it,  may  be 
practiced.  This  mode  of  grafting  is  done  by  cutting  across  the 
edge  of  the  stump  with  a  California  pruning  saw.  The  cut  is 
trimmed  out  on  the  sides  with  a  sharp  pruning  or  budding  knife. 
A  shoemaker's  leather  knife,  which  has  a  narrow,  thin  blade  and  is 
made  of  good  material,  is  very  handy  for  this  purpose.  The  scion 
is  shaped  by  first  cutting  it  in  wedge  form  as  in  the  common  cleft 
graft,  and  then  making  another  slanting  cut  opposite  the  bud,  from 
the  node  down  to  the  point,  which  should  have  about  the  thickness 
of  the  width  in  the  cut  of  the  stock  at  its  lower  end.  The  two  edges 
on  the  cut  of  the  scion  are  shaved  down  a  little,  so  they  do  not 
hinder  in  making  a  close  fit.  The  scion  is  then  inserted  and  driven 
down  with  a  small  wooden  mallet.  It  requires  a  good  deal  of  prac- 
tice to  make  this  graft  properly,  but  if  this  is  acquired,  it  is  quickly 
and  effectively  done.  The  wood  of  the  scion  should  press  snugly 
in  its  full  length  against  the  wood  of  the  stock,  in  order  to  enable 
the  former  to  draw  sap  immediately.  The  inside  of  the  bark  of  the 
scion  should  fit  against  the  inside  of  the  bark  of  the  stock  in  order 
to  make  proper  connection  through  the  callousing  of  scion  and 
stock. 

This  graft  has  the  advantage  over  the  common  cleft  graft  in 
that  the  stock  can  be  cut  off  just  above  a  node,  at  which  a  connec- 
tion is  made  much  more  easily  than  at  an  internode.  If  the  bud  on 
the  stock  is  in  a  smooth  place,  it  can  be  cut  out  with  the  saw,  and 


34     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

the  scion  inserted  in  such  a  place  generally  grows  without  failure. 
The  slanting  cuts  on  the  scion  should  come  up  to  the  bud  as  near 
as  possible,  so  this  rests  closely  against  the  stock.  This  graft  can 
be  employed  on  stocks  not  much  more  than  one-half  inch  in  di- 
ameter. Such  small  stocks  would  of  course  need  a  ligature.  In  ty- 
ing grafts  interspaces  should  be  left  between  the  windings,  to  leave 
room  for  the  callous. 

On  dry  gravelly  soils  most  anything  will  do  for  tying  material, 
but  on  wet  heavy  land  bluestoned  raffia  is  the  best,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent rotting  of  ligature  and  also  decay  of  the  .cut  surfaces  of  both 
scion  and  stock.  Raffia  is  bluestoned  by  soaking  it  in  a  three  per 
cent  solution  of  bluestone  (4  ounces  in  a  gallon  of  water)  for  2-i 
hours ;  it  is  then  hung  up  to  dry.  Before  using  it  is  washed  thor- 
oughly in  running  water,  to  remove  the  bluestone  from  its  outside, 
and  is  then  kept  moist  and  ready  for  use. 

With  the  suckering  of  the  grafts  one  should  be  very  careful. 
It  is  best  not  to  disturb  the  grafts  with  the  appearance  of  the  first 
suckers,  but  simply  pinch  these.  After  a  while  the  earth  may  be 
removed  from  around  the  grafts  and  all  the  suckers  cut  off,  provid- 
ed the  scion  has  made  a  growth  of  one  foot  or  more.  If  this  is  not 
the  case  two  or  three  suckers  near  the  top  of  the  stock  should  be 
left  and  pinched  again.  Too  severe  suckering  will  easily  kill  the 
graft  or  even  the  vine,  as  it  is  apt  to  cause  souring  of  the  sap. 

Along  in  July  or  August  all  the  grafts  should  be  carefully  ex- 
amined, the  tyings  and  the  roots,  that  have  started  from  the  scions 
cut  off,  and  then  well  mounded  up  again,  as  the  knitting  of  the  scion 
and  the  stock  goes  on  better  under  ground  than  above. 

Cuttings  to  be  used  as  scions  are  best  kept  in  boxes  filled  with 
sand  and  placed  in  a  cool  place.  The  sand  can  be  moist  when  the 
cuttings  are  first  put  into  it,  but  gradually  as  the  sand  dries  out  the 
cuttings  become  "cured"  and  are  then  much  less  subject  to  drying 
out,  if  used  in  the  field  and  the  ground  should  become  very  dry, 
and  also  less  subject  to  decay,  if  the  ground  should  be  very  wet. 
Cuttings  to  be  used  for  propagation  on  their  own  roots  are  better 
buried  outside  in  a  well  drained  place  of  gravelly  or  sandy  soil. 

3.  Budding.  This  has  not  been  given  a  fair  and  thorough  trial 
in  California  so  far  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  say  at  present, 
what  can  be  done  in  this  line.  As  our  atmosphere  is  much  drier 
during  the  summer  than  that  of  France,  it  probably  will  need  some 
modifications.  How  to  select  buds  for  budding  and  how  to  insert 
them,  has  been  well  described  by  Prof.  Twight  in  one  of  the  State 
University  bulletins,  which  is  sent  to  any  one  who  asks  for  it. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Creation  of  New  Hybrids  for  Grafting  Stocks. 

As  has  been  stated,  grafting-stocks  of  a  much  greater  adapt- 
ability to  different  soil  and  climatic  conditions  than  the  pure  species 
possess,  can  be  obtained  by  crossing  or  hybridizing  varieties  be- 
longing to  different  species.  Crossing  and  hybridizing  do  not 
mean  exactly  the  same  thing.  A  hybrid  is  obtained  from  a  seed, 


POLLENATION    BY    NATURE'S    METHOD  35 

0 

the  ovule  of  which  had  been  fecundated  by  the  pollen  of  a  variety 
belonging  to  a  different  species,  while  both  parent  varieties  of  a 
cross  are  of  the  same  species.  More  vigorous  and  hardier  types  are 
produced  by  hybridizing  than  by  crossing;  for  this  reason  it  is  of 
greater  value  in  the  creation  of  new  grafting-stocks. 

To  make  the  operation  better  understood  it  is  necessary  first 
to  give  a  short  description  of  the  flowers  of  different  seedlings  and 
the  process  of  fecundation.  There  are  three  kinds  of  flowers  in 
grapes : 


1.  The  perfect,  hermaphrodite,  with  well  developed  pistil  and 
stamens,  capable  of  self-pollenation,  Fig.  1.  All  Viniferas  which 
are  cultivated  have  such  flowers. 

2.  The   practically  pistillate   flower  with   perfect   pistil,   but 
weak  recurved   stamens,  generally     incapable  of  self-pollenation. 
Fig.  2. 

3.  The  staminate  flower,  with  perfect  stamens,  but  without 
pistil.     Fig.  3.     Example :     Rupestris  St.  George. 

Only  vines  with  either  hermaphrodite  or  pistillate  flowers,  pos- 
sessing a  perfectly  developed  pistil,  can  bear  fruit.  But  in  most 
cases  the  pistil  does  not  develop  into  a  grape/unless  one  or  more  of 
its  ovules  have  been  fecundated  by  a  pollen  grain. 

Pollenation  by  Nature's  Method. 

The  pistil  of  a  hermaphrodite  flower  may  be  pollenated  by  the 
pollen  of  its  own  anthers,  the  enlarged  upper  portion  of  the  stam- 
ens, but  with  pistillate  flowers  generally  only  cross-pollenation  is 
efficacious,  that  is,  the  pollen  must  come  from  a  different  vine. 
This  latter  is  also  with  hermaphrodite  flowers  more  effective  and 
consequential  of  better  results.  It  seems  to  be  Nature's  preferred 
method  in  producing  new  and  more  vigorous  and  valuable  types  in 
plant  life.  Gentle  winds  and  small  winged  insects,  visiting  the 
flowers  to  gather  nectar,  are  pollen  distributors.  Whenever  a  pollen 
grain  is  deposited  on  the  stigma,  the  enlarged  upper  portion  of  the 
pistil,  and  this  is  in  its  receptive  state,  which  is  generally  after  a 
flower  has  opened  on  a  warm  fair  day  at  about  10  a.  m.,  it  begins 
to  germinate  in  the  moist,  gummy  substance  and  send  down  its 
threadlike  roots  in  one  of  the  minute  tubes  of  the  pistil,  penetrating 
the  ovule  cell-wall  and  intermingling  its  substance — protoplasm— 
with  the  protoplasm  of  the  ovule.  The  pistil  holding  such  a  fructi- 
fied ovule  at  once  begins  to  enlarge  and  in  time  becomes  a  mature 
grape  and  the  ovules  develop  seeds  within. 

As  male  vines  have  not  a  flower  with  pistil,  it  is  clear,  that 


36     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

they  cannot  bear,  but  they  are  certainly  of  value  or  Nature  would 
not  have  developed  them.  Nature's  tendency  in  its  creative  de- 
signs for  the  reproduction  of  improved  forms  is  apparent  and  so  it 
makes  cross-pollenation  imperative.  Generally  the  most  vigorous 
and  enduring  offspring  is  produced  by  crossing  vines  with  Distillate 
or  hermaphrodite  flowers  with  some  which  have  staminate  flowers. 

How  to  Hybridize  if  Parent  Vines  Bloom  at  the  Same  Time. 

This  is  easiest,  if  the  mother  vine  has  weak  recurved  stamens. 
The  selected  mother  vine  should  be  in  the  best  of  condition,  re- 
ceive good  care  and  be  irrigated  several  times  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer.  As  soon  as  the  flower  clusters  appear  and  if  there 
are  very  many  of  them,  some  should  be  cut  off,  so  the  vine  is  not 
overburdened.  The  vine  should  be  noticed  daily,  until  some  of  the 
buds  on  the  flower-clusters  begin  to  open.  These  should  be  clipped 
off  then  and  each  cluster,  which  is  to  be  operated  on,  enclosed  in  a 
small  sack  of  tissue  paper  or  close-meshed  gauze,  so  insects  cannot 
enter.  The  next  day  at  about  10  a.  m.,  if  the  weather  is  warm  and 
fair,  visit  the  vine  and  if  some  flowers  on  the  enclosed  clusters  have 
opened,  brush  over  these  several  times  with  a  newly  opened  flower- 
cluster,  taken  from  the  vine  which  is  intended  as  male  parent, 
knocking  off  flower-caps  and  spilling  pollen  profusely  all  over  the 
cluster.  If  clusters  used  for  pollenating  are  plenty,  enclose  one  of 
them  in  the  sack,  letting  it  rest  on  the  cluster  to  be  pollenated  until 
the  next  day,  when  with  fresh  clusters  the  operation  is  repeated. 
Every  day  the  vine  must  be  visited,  the  newly  opened  flowers  pol- 
lenated until  all  the  flowers  have  been  operated  on.  If  the  clusters 
are  very  large  and  close,  some  of  the  flowers  should  be  cut  out,  so 
the  young  grapes  are  not  overcrowded.  All  the  seeds  borne  by 
the  sacked  clusters  will  be  crossed  or  hybridized  by  the  variety  used 
as  male  parent. 

If  this  latter  vine  is  growing  right  next  to  the  vine  with  reflexed 
stamens,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  train  two  arms,  one  of  each  vine, 
along  each  other,  and  then  enclose  them  with  a  light  sheet  of  cloth 
to  keep  out  insects.  Daily  shake  the  arm  of  the  pollenating  vine, 
which  should  be  trained  above  the  other,  so  pollen  is  spilled  all  over 
the  flower-clusters  of  the  pistillate  vine. 

If  the  mother  vine  is  a  variety  with  hermaphrodite  flowers,  the 
operation  becomes  more  difficult.  In  this  case  at  commencement  of 
flowering  time  all  the  open  flowers  of  the  cluster  to  be  operated  on, 
are  clipped  off  and  then  all  caps  just  about  ready  to  shed,  are  de- 
tached with  the  point  of  a  needle  or  pin,  the  anthers  all  hooked  off 
with  a  tiny  hook,  made  by  bending  the  point  of  a  pin  back  at  an 
acute  angle.  The  flowers  thus  prepared  are  then  pollenated  as 
previously  described.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  pollen- 
ation  of  the  flowers  by  the  pollen  of  their  own  anthers.  For  this 
reason  the  vine  must  be  visited  every  day  at  9  or  10  a.m.,  and  the 
operation  repeated  as  described.  If  any  flowers  are  found  opened, 
it  is  best  to  clip  them  off,  as  it  is  also  well  to  thin  out  some  of  the 
buds  on  very  large  or  close  clusters.  This  facilitates  the  work  and 
causes  the  remaining  ones  to  set  with  greater  certainty. 


IN  REFERENCE  TO  POLLEN  37 

t 

How  to  Hybridize  Vines  Not  Blooming  at  Same  Time. 

If  the  two  vines  to  be  crossed  do  not  bloom  at  the  same  time, 
then  either  the  blooming  of  the  earlier  one  must  be  retarded  by  cut- 
ting off  the  first  shoots  in  the  spring  or  by  pruning  very  late,  and 
the  later  one  be  made  to  bloom  earlier  by  pruning  very  early  in  the 
fall,  or  by  saving  pollen  from  the  earlier  to  apply  to  the  stigma  of 
the  later. 

How  to  Gather  and  Preserve  Pollen. 

At  blooming  time,  as  soon  as  most  of  the  flowers  have  opened, 
gather  a  supply  of  flowering  clusters  and  carry  them  to  a  light  room 
without  shaking  or  jarring.  A  new  clean  tin  box  about  3  inches 
square  and  one  inch  deep  is  a  good  receptacle  to  preserve  pollen  in. 
Take  the  gathered  clusters  by  the  stem  and  strike  them  gently  into 
the  open  box  several  times.  Then  clip  off  the  open  flowers  into 
the  box,  put  the  lid  on  and  shake  the  box  well,  so  all  the  pollen  be- 
comes dsilodged  from  the  anthers.  Take  the  lid  off  again  and  leave 
the  box  stand  on  window  sill  for  20  or  30  minutes.  Put  the  lid  back 
and  shake  once  more,  when  on  opening  most  of  the  pollen  will  be 
seen  sticking  to  the  bottom,  sides  and  top  of  the  box.  Winnow  off 
all  the  anthers,  corollas  and  other  particles,  which  may  have  fallen 
into  the  box.  Place  the  box  open  now  on  window  sill  for  one  or 
two  hours,  when  the  pollen  will  be  dry  and  in  good  keeping  condi- 
tion. Put  on  the  cover  again  and  paste  over  the  seam  a  strip  of 
paper,  to  keep  out  air  and  small  insects. 

How  to  Apply  Preserved  Pollen. 

When  the  flowers,  to  be  operated  on,  have  opened,  properly 
prepare  them  as  described  and  then  apply  the  pollen  with  a  small 
camel's  hair  or  cat's  tail  hair  pencil,  moistened  in  pure  water,  to  the 
stigmas.  Carefully  sack  the  clusters  after  the  operation,  so  insects 
cannot  carry  in  pollen  from  other  vines. 

How  to  Keep  the  Seeds. 

As  soon  as  the  grapes  on  the  pollenated  clusters  are  fairly  ripe, 
they  should  be  gathered,  the  seeds  taken  from  them  and  dried  in 
a  ventilated  room.  They  should  then  be  carefully  wrapped  and 
kept  in  a  cool,  dry  place. 

In  the  above  I  have  followed  principally  the  directions,  as  given 
by  Mr.  T.  V.  Munson  of  Denison,  Texas,  the  noted  originator  of 
numerous  crosses  and  hybrids  in  one  of  the  bulletins  of  the  Texas 
State  Experiment  Station. 

Mr.  Burbank's  Method. 

According  to  a  writer  in  "The  Pacific  Tree  and  Vine,"  Mr. 
Luther  Burbank  proceeds  in  the  following  manner  in  creating  his 
wonderful  fruits  and  flowers : 

"A  supply  of  the  fructifying  pollen  anthers  is  carefully  gath- 
ered from  the  desired  plant  parent,  usually  the  day  before  it  is  to  be 
used,  and  carefully  dried.  When  the  proper  degree  of  dryness  has 
been  obtained,  the  pollen  powder  is  secured  by  carefully  shaking 


38     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

the  anthers  over  a  watch  crystal,  until  its  surface  is  dusted  with 
pollen.  The  blooms  of  the  seed  parent,  that  is  to  receive  the  pollen, 
have  been  previously  prepared  by  removing  about  nine-tenths  of 
the  bloom  buds,  when  they  began  to  show  the  petal  color.  This  is 
done  for  convenience  in  operating  and  to  avoid  overcrowding  the 
tree's  capacity.  Before  the  petals  open,  each  of  these  buds  is  care- 
fully cut  into  with  a  small  sharp  knifeblade  in  such  a  way  that  the 
petals,  a  part  of  the  sepals  and  all  the  attached  anthers  are  removed 
as  the  knife  makes  its  circuit,  leaving  the  pistils  exposed  but  unin- 
jured by  the  operation.  The  removal  of  the  corolla  balks  the  bees 
and  other  honey-sucking  insects,  that  are  pollen  distributors.  Mr. 
Burbank  chooses  for  pollenation  the  time  when  the  first  hum  of  the 
bees  is  heard  in  the  trees,  as  this  seems  to  be  Nature's  indicator,  and 
he  finds  all  conditions  then  most  favorable,  and  believes  the  pistil 
is  then  in  its  most  receptive  state.  His  instrument  for  pollenation 
is  his  finger  tip,  applied  first  to  the  dusted  surface  of  the  crystal 
until  enough  pollen  adheres,  then  quickly  touched  to  the  pistils  of 
the  prepared  blossoms  one  after  another.  These  welcome  the  pollen 
and  the  fructifying  agency  begins  at  once  its  journey  to  the  ovule. 
No  matter  what  comes  now  ,the  opportunity  for  outside  pollen  has 
passed. 

The  seeds  resulting  from  cross-pollenation  are  of  course  gath- 
ered with  great  care,  seedlings  are  grown  and  the  closest  watch  is 
kept  upon  characteristics  and  habits  from  germination  onward. 
The  little  seedling  may  disclose  its  combined  parentage,  or  it  may 
give  sign  that  it  has  drawn  up  something  from  the  profound  depths 
of  the  converging  streams  of  remote  ancestry  long  before  reaching 
the  blossoming  or  fruiting  stage.  These  crossbred  plants  are  again 
crossbred,  as  the  purpose  of  their  master  indicates,  for  he  always 
works  to  a  definite  purpose.  And  thus  the  wonderful  processes  go 
on  year  after  year.  Sometimes  thousands  of  specimens  have  to  be 
destroyed,  yielding  no  results." 

Planting  the  Seed. 

The  seed  should  be  prepared  about  a  week  before  sowing,  by 
soaking  in  hot,  but  not  boiling  water  for  about  2  hours,  when  the 
cold  water  is  poured  off  and  another  application  of  hot  water  given 
it  for  2  hours  more.  Then  drain  the  water  off  and  wrap  the  seed  up 
in  a  piece  of  course  cloth  and  lay  it  in  the  sun  during  the  day, 
moistening  the  cloth,  whenever  it  becomes  dry.  In  the  evening  take 
it  into  a  warm  room  and  leave  it  there  during  the  night.  The  latter 
part  of  February  is  a  good  time  to  sow  the  seed  and  it  generally 
takes  from  two  to  three  weeks  before  it  germinates. 

The  Seed-Bed. 

Select  for  the  seed-bed  a  piece  of  warm  rich  sandy  soil,  which 
must  be  worked  over  deeply  with  plow  or  spade  and  then  made 
smooth  with  the  rake.  Sow  in  drills  about  three  feet  apart  and 
about  one  and  a  half  inches  deep.  Cover  with  fine  mellow  soil 
and  smooth  over  again  with  rake.  The  seed-bed  must  be  carefully 


TESTING  THE  SEEDLINGS  FOR  RESISTENCE,  ETC.  39 

• 

watched  and  kept  clean  from  weeds  by  frequent  hoeing  and  irri- 
gated several  times  during  the  summer. 

Testing  the  Seedlings  for  Resistance  Against  the  Phylloxera. 

In  order  not  to  waste  time  with  vines,  not  resistant  against  the 
Phylloxera,  especially  if  a  vine  has  been  used  as  one  of  the  parents, 
which  had  only  a  slight  resistance  or  none  at  all,  pieces  of  roots 
from  a  Vinifera  variety  covered  with  the  insects  should  be  buried 
alongside  the  seedlings  in  June.  Care  should  be  taken,  while  doing 
this,  not  to  expose  the  insects  to  the  sun  or  drying  winds  as  this 
might  kill  them.  A  moist  sack  wrapped  around  the  roots,  while 
moving  them,  will  prevent  this. 

The  seedlings  should  be  watched  closely,  their  "roots  examined 
at  least  once  a  month  during  the  summer  and  if  the  Phylloxera  is 
found  feeding  on  them  to  any  extent,  the  vines  should  be  pulled  up 
as  soon  as  noticed.  The  insect  will  always  attack  those  plants  first, 
which  have  the  least  resistance  in  the  lot.  So  if  the  seed-bed  con- 
tains vines,  having  a  resistant-coefficient  of  4,  6,  8,  10  and  12,  it  will 
l)e  found  principally  on  the  seedlings  having  a  resistance  of  4,  and 
very  few  on  any  other.  As  soon  as  these  are  destroyed,  it  will  at- 
tack the  plants,  having  a  resistance  of  6,  and  so  on.  Before  this 
habit  of  the  insect  was  known,  numerous  mistakes  were  made  in 
France,  in  supposing  low-resistant  vines  immune,  which  did  not 
prove  so  at  all  as  soon  as  they  were  planted  by  themselves  in  a  field. 
A  Lenoir,  for  instance,  is  not  attacked  at  all  as  long  as  Californicas 
or  Viniferas  are  near,  and  a  Californica  appears  perfectly  immune, 
if  healthy  Viniferas  are  growing  near  it.  For  this  reason  it  is  best 
to  leave  the  young  vines  in  the  same  place  for  another  year  and  con- 
tinue the  experiment  in  examining  the  roots  carefully  every  month 
during  the  summer  and  pulling  up  everything  that  seems  good  feed 
for  the  insect.  Along  in  September  of  the  second  year  the  roots  of 
the  remaining  seedlings  should  be  carefully  examined  to  see  what 
effect,  if  any,  the  attacks  of  the  Phylloxera  had  on  them,  as  no  vine 
is  entirely  free  from  its  presence,  however  high  its  resistance. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  year  the  young  hybrids  may  be  taken 
up  and  then  each  one  of  them  planted  by  itself  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  any  other  low-resistant  vines.  A  good  plan  to  follow  is 
to  plant  about  one  foot  from  every  one  of  them  a  Rupestris  St. 
George  (16)  or  a  Champini  (14)  and  then  bury  some  phylloxerated 
roots  near  them.  If  on  examination  during  summer  and  fall  the 
Phylloxera  has  shown  a  preference  for  the  roots  of  the  seedlings,  it 
is  plain,  that  their  resistance  is  not  as  high  as  that  of  the  accompany- 
ing vines.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  insect  has  preferred  the  roots 
of  the  two  vines  mentioned,  it  is  proof  that  the  resistance  of  the 
young  hybrids  is  higher  than  that  of  the  Champini  or  Rupestris  St. 
George. 

On  examining  the  roots  of  the  vines  during  August,  if  swellings 
on  the  small  rootlets  to  any  extent  or  still  worse,  if  any  at  all  on  the 
larger  roots  are  observed,  the  seedlings  should  be  rejected.  Accord- 
ing to  Prof.  Millardet's  (of  France)  resistance  scale,  if  40  nodosities 


40     How  TO  MAKE  GRAPE  CULTURE  PROFITABLE  IN  CALIFORNIA 

(swellings  on  the  small  rootlets)  on  100  rootlets  are  present,  the  re- 
sistance-coefficient of  the  vine  is  16,  the  minimum  one  which  is  con- 
sidered safe  in  France  in  most  soils.  If  more  are  to  be  seen,  the 
resistance  is  lower,  and  if  less,  higher.  If  any  swellings  occur  on 
the  larger  roots  (tuberosities),  the  resistance  is  below  15,  and  then 
safe  only  in  exceptional  cases.  The  larger  the  nodosities  and  tuber- 
osities are,  the  more  quickly  the  roots  will  rot  and  the  lower  is  the 
resistance  of  the  vine. 

The  next  step  to  be  taken  is  to  ascertain  whether  the  seedlings, 
which  have  shown  sufficient  resistance  against  the  Phylloxera,  will 
root  readily  from  cuttings  and  graft  well  to  Viniferas.  In  regard  to 
the  latter  quality,  there  will  not  be  any  trouble,  if  the  species  pre- 
viously mentioned,  are  used  for  hybridization,  as  they  all  possess 
this.  In  selecting  parents  for  hybridizing  purposes  in  general,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  several,  qualities  desired  in  their  progeny,  are  the. 
aggregate  qualities  of  the  former.  No  hybrids  will  have  any  value  in 
California,  which  have  not  one  of  the  four  hardy  species,  Candicans, 
Berlandieri,  Cordifolia  and  Cinarea,  as  one  of  their  parents.  In  re- 
gard to  the  resistance  of  a  new  hybrid  to  the  California  vine  disease 
or  its  adaptation  to  California  soil  conditions,  the  general  aspect  of 
foliage  and  root  systems,  whether  it  takes  more  after  one  parent  or 
the  other,  is  indicative  of  its  strength  in  this  respect,  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  greatest  range  of  adaptation  is  obtained  by 
hybridizing  a  vine  adapted  to  wet  conditions  with  one  adapted  to 
the  very  driest.  Numerous  hybrids  will  have  to  be  rejected  even 
in  this  respect  before  something  is  obtained,  possessing  the  great- 
est usefulness.  Wonderful  achievements  are  possible  in  this  line,  if 
properly  and  intelligently  followed  up,  and  it  may  also  not  be  out 
of  reach,  to  produce  vines  entirely  equal  to  the  best  Viniferas  in 
regard  to  quantity  and  quality  of  the  fruit,  but  with  a  much  more 
drouth-resistant  foliage. 


Press  of  The  Pacific  Tree  and  Vine,  San  Jose,  Cal. 


XJNIVEKSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBKABY, 
BEBKELEY 


20m-l,'22 


I  Itioo 


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